


That Damn Dwarf

by dougxdylas



Category: Rune Factory 4
Genre: Developing Relationship, Dylas point of view, Fluff and Smut, Foul mouthed horse, M/M, POV First Person, Tiny angry matchstick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-04
Updated: 2016-05-03
Packaged: 2018-02-24 03:42:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 41
Words: 54,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2566937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dougxdylas/pseuds/dougxdylas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life is weird as fuck, and it definitely doesn’t go the way or pace you expect to. One day you’re arm wrestling the most annoying dwarf in town, then next thing you know, you’re fiercely making out with him on your bedroom floor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Denial

**Author's Note:**

> Chapters 10, 13, 34, 37 and 40 are explicit, in case you want to avoid them (or skip right to them.) Special thanks for quartzfox, yvesaffection and theunwittingeavesdropper, for the encouragement and the grammatical help!

Doug…

That moronic red-haired dwarf. What the hell is wrong with him? How can he always manage to say exactly the things that make me snap?

Goddammit, I can’t sleep right now… My throat is dry. I need water…

He thinks I’m falling for that lame trick of his. It makes me want to punch his stupid face.

 

_“Hey, flea-bitten swayback! Listen up, I…”_

_…_

Such a good for nothing pint-sized shrimp... Who does he think he is? Trying to make a fool out of me.

Great, I’m shaking again.

Why does he keep repeating that joke anyway? It’s not funny. It’s even worse than the horse jokes.

What a terrible headache... This bed is so uncomfortable today…

 

_“I… I like y-you!”_

_…_

What could he possibly want with all of this? He can’t be serious… This was the third time this month he’s come up with the same talk. Cornering me in a quiet place and spitting out those things. I am not buying it, pebble-brain, you will not fool me.

Since when is it so hard to breathe?

 

_“Can’t you see I do like you??”_

_…_

Stop thinking about Doug. Don’t think about his words. He didn’t mean it. He was just messing with you, like he always does… That glimpse of sadness you caught in his eyes afterwards? It’s all part of the act. He’s just waiting for you to fall for his trick… To laugh at you.

 

_“Look, hay-brained nag, I WANT you alright!!”_

_…_

How about telling a better joke next time? _Why_ would he want me? In all the six years we’ve known each other all we’ve ever done is fight and compete, and call each other foul names.

It’s not like we’re doing this to hide our feelings. It’s not like we care about each other at all, and it’s definitely NOT desire.

Shit, my face is burning…

Yes, we did watch the fireflies together last year, but we both agreed it was not a date. It was just two guys spending a holiday together, enjoying each other’s company.

Yes, we did secretly exchange gifts on our birthdays. I just happened to cook him some of his favorite dishes, and he tried his best to make me a new fishing rod. Simple tokens… That’s all.

Yes, we have been spending a lot of time together recently. I do miss him at times, and his face does pop up in my dreams sometimes… but that doesn’t mean a thing.

He can’t possibly feel the same—not that I like him. This is NOT what I meant. Darn it, if anything, I actually hate that dwarf.

Damn him and his stupid face. That stupid bright red hair, falling on his stupid big eyes. His stupid sneer… and that stupid laugh. I can’t think of any other word to describe him.

Maybe I’m the stupid one right here…

Stop freaking out. Stop overthinking this. Stop remembering that crushed look on Doug’s face.

…

But what if he was telling the truth?

 

Goddammit…

What should I do?


	2. Confrontation

Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so bad with words.

I’m pretty sure a few minutes have passed since I’ve entered the general store, and yet nothing comes to my mind. Your silence isn’t helping either, Doug…

I grab an item from the front shelf to look busy, still trying to organize my thoughts.

_Damn, it shouldn’t be this hard…_

The dwarf is sitting behind the counter, his chin resting on his left hand, dull eyes on a piece of paper while he leisurely scribbles. He’s barely looked at me this whole time, much less talked anything. Is he trying to ignore me?

This is kind of unnerving. What the hell is he thinking about?...

Wait. What is this noise?

Sounds like Doug is scrawling on the paper, faster by each second.

Oh… it looks like the tip snapped.

He’s frowning now—wait, how long have I been staring at him? A long sigh comes out from his mouth, as he puts down his pencil.

“The hell you want?” His tone is acid, but it finally breaks the silence.

What do I want?

Maybe I should have thought it through more thoroughly before coming here…

At my lack of answer, he stares at me, looking downright pissed. Standing up, he starts to walk in my direction, not breaking the glare. Just a few steps and he is right in front of me. This is the first time I’ve ever felt intimidated by him.

With one move, he snatches the soup can out of my hands.

“You’ve been looking at this dumb soup can for a while now, you do know that, right?" He says, making his way back to the counter.

I feel so stupid all of a sudden. I really was inspecting the same can ever since I entered the store… Damn, it always makes me angry when I feel stupid. The heat is running up my throat already. Don’t let it get you Dylas, you’re here for a reason, remember?

He’s sitting at the top of the counter now, casually tossing the soup can from one hand to another. His feet actually dangle a little from the floor, what a ridiculously short dwarf.

“We’re all out of carrots, if that’s what the horse came here for!” He teases me again, his mouth turning upward in that stupid grin I hate so much.

He’s trying to piss me off. Like always. Why does he have to be like this way anyway?

My fists are clenching. Just… stay calm…

Doug… He’s gazing at me, a little expectant… probably waiting for me to fight back. But already, the grin is dying off his lips.

“Y’know what,” he looks away from me, “If you are just going to stand there in silence, you’d better just fuck off. I’m done with your fucking silent treatment already.” He clenches his hand around the soup can, sounding almost hurt.

Silent treatment? Is he talking about those times he confessed at me? I never gave him any answer back then, and we haven’t talked much since then. But I didn’t mean to, I-I didn’t know what to say…

Man, I really am the worst…

“Wait.”

The courage to speak finally hits me, though I’m not exactly sure of how to follow this up…

 _Breathe.._.

“Uh… I a-actually want to ask you something.”

Doug turns to face me once again, and makes a gesture with his head for me to keep talking. His eyes are a little dull, but he seems interested. Better check if the place is empty before continuing. Good.

“Er, you know I'm a bad talker, right?” …is this a good start?

“Oh really?“ He rolls his eyes, sighing.

“I'm not all that smart, either.” I continue, and he laughs like I’m stating the obvious. “I… I act before I think.”

“Uhuh…” He mutters, now focused on peeling off the label off that stupid soup can. Crap, is he even paying attention to me?

“So, uh...” I swallow. My heart is pounding faster again… How can I put this in words?

“What?...” He’s staring back at me, looking tense all of a sudden. Wait, when did I get so close to him? My hands are braced on the counter in front of him...

“See, I, um...” Shit. I’ve never been so nervous in my life… My face is burning. 

“Spit it out already, gelding!” He shouts out, anxiety visible in his eyes. Dammit.

“ARGH! Heck with it!” I snap. “I'm only going to say this once, so listen up!

“I l...li...like you too!”

He gapes in shock at my words, his eyes widening, red flushing his skin.

I hold my breath the whole time, waiting for a reaction. Suddenly the soup can slips from his hands.

Then next thing I know, he’s pulled me into a kiss, swift hands wrapping around my neck and back.

The soup can hits the floor.

And suddenly, I can’t think anymore.


	3. Airship

I couldn’t sleep well again. And now I can’t even work right.

Thoughts of Doug kept coming to me, disturbing my concentration. It’s so hard to believe, after six years of denial… I actually confessed my feelings. To Doug.

Who freaking kissed me.            

The feel of his mouth tightly pressed against mine still makes me dizzy. His lips were trembling once they started to move against mine—I wonder if he was nervous, because I was about to die.

I had no idea of what to do with my hands, but Doug’s were clenching my hair and neck. I couldn’t breathe, I was gasping for air when he nibbled me. His tongue touched my lips just for a split second, but it was enough to send shivers through my whole body.

And again, this embarrassing heat runs through my face and body just at this memory. Damn. It was just a quick kiss, it ended as soon as we heard noises outside the shop. So how can it makes me react like this?

I’m lightheaded… Maybe from the sleep deprivation? I don’t even know.

All I know is that I am a mess today... Getting orders wrong, dropping trays, failing at stopping Porcoline from eating the dishes…

That’s when Porco tells me to go take a break—he’s probably concerned at me by the look on his big face...

I’m going to take a nap... The dwarf agreed to meet me at the airship after work, I don’t want to look like a total wreck by then.

—

 

Okay. I’m at the airship, it’s way past “after work.” So where the hell is that shrimp?

Did he forget about me? Maybe he was only messing with me after all.  

…

He probably got held up at work, that’s got be it. Blossom is quite rigid with his schedule—but I guess she needs to, or else he’d slack off…

I sit on a barrel near the edge of the airship, my eyes fixed on the entrance. Nobody really comes here during the week… Is this the reason why Doug choose to meet here? So we could talk in piece?

_Talk…_

Yesterday kiss comes in mind, my face hot again.

Stop thinking about Doug. Focus on something else—anything but that weird golden-mermaid-Porcoline figurehead thing.

The wind. The wind is strong today. It makes the mild autumn afternoon a little chillier. It also makes my hair a mess—damn, it keeps swooshing into my face… So annoying. Almost as annoying as waiting for a certain dwarf.

Sun’s starting to set already. Where the hell are you, Doug?

I turn over to stare at the scenery: mostly cliffs and a vast forest, tinged with that faint sunset light. You can actually smell all this green. And, if you ignore the faint noises coming from the town, it’s very silent here.

That’s when I hear some hasty steps quickly approaching and suddenly stopping. A sharp breath following.

Finally…

Turning over, there’s that good for nothing dwarf at the entrance of the airship, bent with hands on his knees, gasping for air. A mix of relief and annoyance hits me.

“What took you so long? ‘Thought you weren’t coming.” I say, standing up and walking in his direction. Why is he having a hard time breathing? His house is only two blocks away from the airship…

Unless he hasn’t come from his house at all.

“I… I thought of…” Doug pants, trying to get a hold of himself.  “...Getting you… A gift.”

“A gift?”

He shouldn’t… I didn’t get him nothing. Was I supposed to get him something??

He wheezes, before carefully handing me the gift. I just stare at it in my hands for a few seconds…

It’s a… weird and big yellow flower?

“W-what... Why? F-flowers don’t suit me at all.” Crap, I hate when I stutter like this. Why did he feel the need to give me flowers??

Great. I’m embarrassed now, and I don’t even know why.

“Heh...” He gives out a faint smile, still a little out of breath, “That’s not a common flower though, you know that?”

“W-what do you mean?” Damn, stop stuttering. He’s pleased with my ignorance, by the look in his eyes. That cocky stare I hate so much (or at least I thought I used to hate.)

The streetlights suddenly lighten up, I didn’t even realize it was getting dark already.

“I sneaked out from work earlier to try to get a hand in one of those! It’s an Ayn… Angoy… Ayngonn… Ayngondaia Lawn!”

A what?...

Ayngondaia Lawn?

Doug keeps talking as he looks at my puzzled face.

“It’s a special type of flower! It was pretty hard getting it… You should have seen the skeleton monster I had to sneak by...”

Wait what? Where did he get these anyway??

“But it was worth it!” He says with a smile. Was it though? “I want you to have it with you at all times. Don’t forget it, okay?”

“At all times!” He repeats.

?…

“Huh… okay…” I say, a little weirded out. “But won’t it wilt or anything? Do you seriously want me to walk with a dead flower up and down?...” I ask, waiting for some common sense to speak into the shrimp.

“Yep! Keep it with you, okay?” Doug smiles. I guess there’s no winning this argument…

“Fine…”, I gruff, glancing at the burden, “Can you at least tell me why?”

He then takes a step back as if taken by surprise, and his face starts to turn into all shades of pink. He blabbers what’s probably supposed to be an answer but his words makes no sense… What the hell is wrong with you, dwarf?

“W-w… w-what does it matter anyway, Mister Horsie?!” He finally shouts, his face burning red.

Wait—

_Mr. Horsie?_

What??

“I never said you could call me that!!”

“Well, we’re dating now, you gonna need a nickname, right?!”

It takes me a second to process what he just said.

…

Dating?

 

Doug freezes after seeing my reaction. As if only now he realized what he said. He takes a step back and hesitates a little before asking, a shy look on his face.

“W-we … we ARE dating, aren’t we?”

Okay, breathe…

…

Dating. Yeah…

What else could this be? Our confessions, yesterday’s kiss. The anxiety of wanting to meet him again. This gift he got for me. I guess that hearing it out loud made it sound more real somehow. Scarier, somehow…

“Of course we’re dating, idiot.” I answer, not facing him. He sighs in relief and coughs a little afterwards…

My face is a little hot for some reason, and Doug, Doug’s now biting his lip, kicking the air silently. Neither of us actually knows what to do in a date huh?

Putting the flower in my pocket, I walk towards him, wrapping my arms around him all awkward and stiff—damn, he’s so short I’m practically hugging his head. Maybe this was a bad idea—

Oh. He’s hugging me back, arms tightly wrapped around my waist. Urk, my heart is pounding so hard, I hope he can’t feel it.

He sure is warm…

All of a sudden, he looks up to me, his face flushed a little. He brings himself closer to me, lifting his face up almost as if he’s trying to—

Kiss me?... Oh.

He does want to kiss again. He’s just waiting for me to fill the gap—he couldn’t get any closer even if he tried. Shorty dwarf.

Hesitantly, I bring my lips closer to his but—

Out of nowhere, the floor shakes.

We look around and then at each other, Doug has a “Did you feel that too?” look on his face.

The floor shakes again, and now the airship is suddenly lifting up from the port. It looks like it is taking flight on its own… but… why? I hold Doug close to me, unsure of what to do, when a sudden blast brings both of us down to the airship floor.

CRAP!...

I think… I hit my head during the fall. Nng…

There’s this sharp pain in the back of my head and…

Everything is dizzy.

Argh, it’s so hard to breathe…

What is this weight in my chest? Is it Doug?...

It hurts so much.

…


	4. Clinic

_“Is he going to be alright?”_

_…_

I feel…

A delicate hand in my forehead.

_“Yes, he is all better. Not even a fever.”_

_…_

What are these faint voices?...

_“Oh, thank you Nancy! You’re an angel!”_

_…_

Is this Lest?

_“No need to thank me!”_

I open my eyes, Lest and Nancy are talking to each other in front of me.

Why am I at the clinic?

W-what happened?

But more importantly, where’s Doug?

Once I try to get up, Lest attempts to stop me.

“Woah, woah, hang on, you’re still recovering!” He says, sitting me back on that cold bed.

Shit, he might mean well, but I just want to get out of here. I don’t like clinics, they smell like sickness and like, like… well, on second thought, it smells quite nice in here. Maybe the flowery scent is Nancy’s doing?

“Actually,” says Jones, coming from upstairs. “He is good to go.”

“What?” Lest asks, astonished. “But how? H-he hit his head yesterday, hard. He was bleeding a lot. He passed out! What do you mean that he’s simply good to go?” 

What... Was that what happened last night? How does Lest knows all of this?

I still can’t recall a thing… I wonder if Doug is okay too.

“We do not quite understand it as well…” Jones says, approaching us while looking at his papers. “Look, we do believe in your story, Lest. But I have to say that even at the time you brought him to the clinic, Dylas had no injuries at all. He was just unconscious.”

Lest looks even more lost than me, I’m almost sorry for him.

“We even ran all of the necessary exams on him to make sure he was alright.” Nancy says, smiling like usual, her voice fading as she leaves the room with a tray of medicine. “It may have been a little miracle.”

“Well…” Lest starts, scratching his head. “I guess that it could have been a miracle indeed... It’s a good thing he didn’t lose his memory too, huh?” He chuckles, sitting on a chair in the corner of the room.

Miracle?

“I don’t believe in miracles.” I finally say, sitting up. Jones was right, I’m completely fine.

“How much I owe you guys?” I ask, preparing myself for the worse. I passed out in this town once before. Once.

“Don’t worry about it.” Says Jones, to my surprise. “Since you were completely fine since the moment you got here, it’s not fair to charge you at all.” I look at him in disbelieve.

“Huh… T-thanks.” I murmur lamely, and he nods, a smile on his face. Lest then calls Jones closer, apparently to gift him some fried rice he made himself.

Rice… Doug.

I need to know if Doug’s fine.

Feeling a little disoriented, I get up and sneak out of the clinic, the floor unusually _cold_ on my feet as I close the door behind me.

I barely take a step when suddenly the door slams open behind me.

“Dylas!!” Lest shouts next, sounding desperate.

“Urk, what now?” I turn to face him. He is holding something quite familiar…

“Er… your clothes…” he stammers, his face red.

What?

I look down to see myself wearing only one of those hospital gowns.

OH NO.

Some tourists are staring, murmuring to each other, giggling.

I try my best to cover myself and go back to the clinic, my honor suddenly down in the gutter.

—

 

Well, apparently I will have to spend the rest of the morning in the clinic. Nancy thinks I have a fever. I didn’t bother to tell her that the heat on my face was actually from sheer embarrassment. But in fact, after two nights of bad sleep I could use some rest.

Nancy is out to gather some medicinal herbs, Jones is upstairs (probably eating his fried rice) while Lest is still sitting here, a guilty look on his face.

“I’m sorry Dylas…”

I don’t remember asking for him to stay, still here he is anyway. He’s so meddlesome… It used to bother me, but it’s kind of heartwarming to have someone like him nearby. Plus, he’s always giving us food, how can I complain about this?

“What you’re apologizing for?” I ask as I take the bowl he’s handing me, the smell of milk porridge making my stomach grumble.

“I’m sorry for the trouble. If I didn’t remotely call for the airship last night, none of this would have happened…”  He says, looking genuinely sorry.

The airship. Now I see… So this is how it happened, Lest called for the airship while I was in there. This was the blast that knocked me down and—

Doug. I forgot about him.

“Where’s Doug?” I shout without thinking, spitting a bit of milk.

Damn, did that sound too worried?

“Oh, he’s completely fine, your body cushioned his fall, so he wasn’t hurt at all. Don’t worry about him!”

Well, this _does_ make me more relieved.

“Actually I’m here because he told me so, I’m fulfilling a request for him!”

“I see, so you only are here for ‘Prince Points’, or whatever you call it…” I mutter to myself, mouthful of milk.

Wait—

“What? Doug told you… I—” I almost choke.

“Yes! He stood up all night by your side, even though pretty much everyone told him that he could go home. So stubborn…” Lest says, laughing a little. “He only left when Nancy ran the very last exam, to guarantee that you were fine. That was like an hour ago.”

…I don’t know what to say.

“He was so worried about you he requested for me to keep an eye on you while you were on this clinic,” Lest says, widening one eye at me. Silly Lest. “He’s probably resting right now, so don’t worry about him.”

I can’t believe Doug would openly do something so nice for me… His concern is kind of touching, it makes me warm on the inside. Or maybe that’s just the milk porridge?

Well. We are dating now, I guess that taking care of each other is only natural…

…

Yea, the warmth it’s definitely not porridge.

–

 

After finishing my meal I feel so much better, I decide to go home. However, as I dress myself in my black leather clothes, I can’t shake the feeling I’m forgetting something important…

Oh, wait—

Doug’s gift.

Where is it?

I fumble through all my pockets but nothing.

Damn, where could have that went to? I’m pretty sure I’ve put it in my pockets…

“What’s wrong, Dylas? You look agitated,” Lest asks from behind the folding screen. “Do you need any help?”

“Huh, yes… Did you see a big yellow flower? Maybe next to me, at the time I passed out?” I ask, now searching for it around the clinic.

“What are you talking about Dylas? I was pretty shaken when I rescued you, but I’m pretty sure there’s was no flower anywhere near to you.” Says Lest, as he comes near me.

Fuck it, if Lest was the one saying it, then it must be true- this was a common saying from the town. Minus the foul word, that is.

But if it wasn’t with me, then where could it possibly be now?

“Maybe it fell somewhere on the airship… Want to go look for it together?” Asks Lest, solicit as always.

Yeah, that’s a good idea. I can’t lose my boyfriend’s first gift ever...

Wait, what? Is Doug my…

…

Ugh, shut up, let’s just get going.


	5. Special Flower

It’s useless.

We’ve been searching for that stupid flower up and down, for a good hour now. Still nothing. Maybe it fell from the airship.

Shit…

I sit on the ship’s stairs, Doug’s words suddenly echoing through my mind.

_“I want you to always have it with you, don’t forget okay?”_

Damn. He also said it was hard to get it… I’m the worst. Lest sits by my side, a look of defeat on his face, his usual smile faded out a good while ago. He takes a deep breath before turning to face me.

“Dylas… Why are we even searching for this flower in particular anyway? You know I have lots of fields, full of every type of flower or crop.

“I have top quality toyherbs, pinkcats, charm blues, pompom grass… You name it I’ll plant it!” The unusual condescending tone in his voice makes me look away in discomfort as he keeps talking, more intense by each second.

“I’ve planted fields full of crystal flowers, each one more perfect than the other! And dozens of plant dungeons, of every level you can imagine. I even planted swords and shields stronger than metal! A-and golden GIANT vegetables, those are so beautiful…” He beams up, a single tear running down his cheek. He _is_ creeping me out right now.

“H-have you ever seen an Emery Flower in full bloom? They took so long to bloom, so much long…”

He is crying on his knees now. What the actual hell…?

“Lest. Maybe you’re taking your hobby way too far.” I say, a little freaked out to try to comfort him. He sobs, drying the tears off. The midday sun shining over our heads at this point.

“Anyway,” He sniffs. “What yellow flower is that? What’s so possibly unique about it?”

I can’t possibly tell him about Doug… And aside the fact it was special for some reason, I know nothing about that flower. I can’t even recall its name.

Darn it. Sometimes I do feel like a dumb horse.

Lest frowns at my lack of response.

“Can you at least describe it for me?” His crying stopped already, thankfully. “Is it some sort of moondrop?”

No, no… I try my best to describe it from him. “It was as big as a pink melon, full of layered long yellow petals, and a green fleshy core… Didn’t smell like nothing at all. Kind of ugly to be honest.”

“Seriously??” Says Lest, with a puzzled look on his face. He blinks twice before continuing. “I have a bunch of these sitting forever at my refrigerator!”

 What?

“Yeah, you can pick them up sometimes on that creepy cave full of herbs, but as far as I know, they’re good for nothing. They taste awful, don’t have any perfume, do not recover much health, can’t be planted, can’t be used in any recipe… They can’t even be used to make fertilizer since they don’t appear to rot!” Lest says, laughing a little.

“What did you want that for anyway?”

Dammit…

I’m so stupid. I can’t believe Doug would give me garbage—and trying to pass it as a great thing! He was probably playing a prank in me, making me carry that worthless flower with me at all times… That good for nothing, pebble-brained, pint sized dwarf, once I get my hands on you—

“Yo, Lest, I was looking all over for you!” A voice from a distance. _His_ voice.

At the entrance of the airship is said good for nothing shrimp, calling Lest with a hand sign, who gets up and rushes to him in a blink. I can’t hear what they’re talking about now, but I’m pretty sure it is about his request.

Doug hands a small bag to Lest, who thanks him and waves goodbye to both of us, his cheery smile back on his face. Doug looks over my direction again, and starts to walk towards me—probably not noticing my glare.

“Hey, y‘okay?” He asks, sitting by my side at those stairs, way closer than when Lest did it.

I nod, still a little pissed off. He lets out a relieved sigh, and starts playing with his fingers.

“Good… Cause, you know…” He hesitates for a bit, his face flushing a little before facing the floor.

“…I got worried sick about you.”

Oh… His words once again take me by surprise. It’s so weird, Doug admitting he was worried about _me_. How can I possibly stay mad at him? Maybe he simply didn’t know the flower was useless.

“W-well,” I clear my throat, feeling my cheeks warm up, “I’m fine now. T-thanks though…”

“Good…” He says, a faint smile on his face. He inspects the place a bit for a moment and… He… he’s kind of leaning in me right now. Great, I’m blushing again.

He chuckles a little, his head resting on my shoulder. This is… nice. I like it.

Then, out of nowhere, he yanks away and punches me right in the arm!! Real hard!

“OUCH!! That hurt, dwarf!” I hiss, pushing him further away and clenching at the spot where he just hit me. Ahh, it’s stinging!

“Haha, sorry, I was feeling too sappy! I punch when I get flustered!” He says, still rosy faced.

Darn it, you’re not supposed to be adorable right now. Flustered, I lightly punch him back on his shoulder. He protests, and immediately jabs me back on the same spot as before.

Ouch, you little-

He actually snorts laughing.

“Knock it off!!” I protest. He is having way too much fun at my expense already.

Suddenly, there’s this loud roar. What on earth was that?? The airship looks still, but what if-

“Huh, sorry, I’m kind of starving right now!” Doug says, somewhat embarrassed.

That… thunder was his fucking stomach?! What the hell Doug.

“Granny is probably waiting for me so we can lunch, I should get going. Just wanted to make sure y’okay.”

“Oh. Alright…” I say, trying to hide the disappointment of having to leave him already. “I should go to the restaurant too. I mean, even though is my day off, Porco might be worried…”

Then Doug smiles at me.

“Don’t worry about it! Just as soon as we took you to the clinic, Lest went and told Porcoline everything! According to Lest, he even made you a get-well-dish! Though he probably ended up eating it right away, since it never made it to the clinic.” He says, smiling, making me smile a little as well.

This does sound like Porcoline.

“Oh, I better be going, Granny’s going to blister my ears… See ya!” He stands up to use the escape magic but keeps still for a moment.

“Huh, you know…” He says, turning back at me hesitantly.

“Today also happens to be my day off. Do you wanna… Hang around after lunch?” He asks, sounding a little shy.

_Hell yeah._

“Yea, I have time.” I say, trying to act nonchalantly.

“Alright, come to the store after lunch then! We decide where to go then! See ya!!” he says excitedly, escaping in a blink.

“A second date huh…” I murmur to myself, blushing at the thought.

I sit still in silence for a few seconds… Never noticed how quiet and boring this airship was without Doug.

Good thing I’ll get to see him again.


	6. Keeno Lake

Once we decided the place of our second date, Doug sprinted ahead of me, as if trying to get there before me. Not on my watch though. After a good run out of town, dodging past some orcs, mushrooms and woolies, we finally get where he wanted.

Keeno Lake.

I’m bent over my knees trying to catch my breath, not caring how undignified that might look like because I can hear Doug’s sharply breathing too.

After a few seconds of this pathetic display, something drops near my feet. I look down, opening my eyes.

Is this… Doug’s jacket?

What the—

I look up and the clumsy dwarf is trying to take off his shirt. His head got stuck on the collar, but after a few tries he finally takes it off, dropping it to the grass, his chest heaving like mine.

“What are you doing?” My voice barely leaves my mouth—why is he undressing himself? What kind of date is this??

“Duh… what do you think?” He’s unbuckling his belt now, smiling the whole time.

W-what? My breath is somehow shorter now than before. Is this what it looks like? He can’t be serious. I am **not** ready for this. My face is burning hot and I swallow in panic. I try to look away as he drops down his shorts but, but--

Wait. Is that a—

“I came here to swim!” Doug says with a big smile. He’s in his blue swimsuits, kicking away his shorts.

What… He was in swimsuits this whole time?

_OH…_

I’m in a huge mix of relief and disappointment. But mostly relief. I take a long deep breath, trying to get back on my feet, as he piles up all his crumbled clothes and heads to the lake.

Wait, is he serious about swimming? We’re in the middle of autumn.

“You trying to catch a cold, shrimp?” I ask, still trying to shake off my embarrassment that somehow went unnoticed by him, as he stretches himself a bit.

“Didn’t you say it’s always summer in here?”

“Huh, no…” I think to myself. This one time I said that you could CATCH summer fish here. “The water is still probably cold.”

But only a fool would jump at a lake without checking the temperature first, right?

“Cannonball!!”

Ice cold water splashes around.

…

Unbelievable.

—

 

“AH-CHOO!!”

Doug’s sneezes sure are as loud as him…

“Told you.” I sneer, as Doug ruffles his dripping wet hair, sniffling.

“S-shut up, will you??” He mutters, the blush on his cheeks making the threat undignified.

He is fully dressed again. It was quite a view, him rushing back to his clothes after jumping at those cold waters…

For his luck, the sun is unusually bright today. Maybe it is always summer in here for real... The sand is warm and nice on the toes, and we just sit here in silence, side by side, barefoot, like we usually do when I’m fishing here.

But man… Watching Doug being dumb is always priceless to me, it gives me peace.

Without realizing, I may have smiled at the thought, because Doug is glaring at me now.

“What you still laughing at?” He says, elbowing my sides. Well, what does he think?

“At you, you moron.” I just say it, waiting for the little fight that always comes next.

He frowns and opens his mouth to protest, but stops as if something suddenly hit him. Then he bows his head down, a scheming look on his face. To my surprise, he just grabs my hand, cold fingers intertwining with mine… He looks at them for a while, the corners of his lips turning up in a smile: “Well…”

“I’m YOUR moron.”

…

What?

 _WHAT_?? That was so sappy. Did he actually say that out loud? Why am I blushing at this??

He turns to meet my eyes again, rosy cheeks on his pale face.

“I always wanted to say that…” He gives a nervous laugh.

Fuck, Doug. You’re so embarrassing—but somehow adorable?… I don’t even know how to react to this.

All of a sudden, he looks away and—

Eugh, he sneezes again, why does he has to be THIS loud? Oh. He wipes his nose on his hand and then on his shorts. Not so adorable anymore…

Wait, I have a handkerchief with me. I should probably lend it to him.

“Here, you can use this.” I say as I hand him the cloth. I should have done this before…

“Thanks.” He says in a nasal voice, as he grabs it and immediately uses it to blow his nose.

All of a sudden, a huge shadow covers the sun. What the hell? We look up and there was the airship, hovering thirty feet above us. A rope ladder comes down from it and shortly after, a small figure starts climbing down the steps.

“Ah, I finally found you Dylas!” A voice that can only be Lest’s shouts as he approaches the ground. “I knew you’d be fishing in some lake around!”

After a minute, he lands next to us, with a big bag over his shoulder. Doug and I share a puzzled look for a second. It’s not the first time Lest chases us around town to gift us things, but he never showed up with a bag this big.

“What were you looking me for?”

“It’s just that earlier today you were so desperate searching for that Ayngondaia Lawn you lost… I decided to bring you the ones I had!” Lest says, dropping with a thump that huge bag he was casually holding. It’s full of those yellow flowers—how did these even fit in his refrigerator anyway??

Oh. Wait.

Dang it... Doug. I completely forgot to tell him I lost his gift… He’s staring at the bag quite in shock. I take a flower from it, to have something to do with my hands, avoiding eye contact with the dwarf.

“You can have them all! As an apology for yesterday’s trouble!” Says Lest with a smile, looking over at Doug and then back at me.

“I see Doug is with you again today. Are you two close now?” Lest asks.

Close??

I clench to the flower, looking away from both of them.

“N-no, you see… Uh, we’re just… just…” I’m fidgeting those yellow petals… Come up with something, quick. “Fishing!”

Lest laughs a little, climbing up back to the airship.

“I see… Well, I’ll leave you two alone again. Good luck fishing—” He says with a big smile, “Without fishing rods!"

He then waves goodbye to both of us.

Oh. I forgot about the… fishing rods.

What a half-assed lie… I drop the flower back in the bag, while Lest’s airship moves away, revealing back the bright sun burning above us. Burning just as bad as my face, from sheer embarrassment.

“Thanks for the help…” I say ironically to that dwarf, letting out a big sigh. You could have said something to back me up there, but no. You’re just standing here, looking sick.

Wait—

“You okay, Doug?” I say as I inspect his pale face. He’s trembling a little and his eyes look almost startled, his gaze fixed on the lake.

Could have him gotten a cold?

“…T-the… f-flower… You…” He finally stammers, still not looking at me. “Said you lost it?”

Oh, he’s upset about the lost gift isn’t he?

“Hm, yeah… Sorry, I didn’t mean to lose it. It just _disappeared_ after the accident, I, I” I try to explain it when suddenly I look at him and

His eyes are watering a bit?

As if noticing my puzzled stare, he looks away immediately. He takes his shoes and socks from the ground, and shakes the sand out of his feet.

“I-I… need to go…” He claims, standing up in clumsy moves.

And then, with no further ado, he escapes.

No “goodbye”, no “see you later”.

He just disappears, leaving me alone with this useless bag of flowers.

And I couldn’t possibly be more confused.


	7. Restless

What the hell Doug... Why is he causing such a fuss over a flower?

Sure, he said it was a special flower. Sure, he went through a lot of trouble just to get it for me. Apparently.

But isn’t it just garbage? I mean. Come on. Lest just gave me a bag full of those. It’s sitting here in my room, being useless…

So what’s the big deal? Why was he tearing up over this?

Is it because I lost the first gift he gave me?

I didn’t mean to lost it, he knows that, right?

Is it because I didn’t tell him I lost?

I didn’t mean to lie. I just forgot to tell him, that’s all.

Come to think of… He did tell me to keep the flower with me at all times. Then he got all flustered when asked him why.

Maybe he had a reason for this?

A sentimental one? A kinky one? Ugh, I have no idea.

Doug’s insane, that’s got be it. First person I ever date and it’s a crazy one.

…

Or maybe it was something I did?

…But what could I have possibly done to make Doug react like that? It doesn’t make any sense.

We were good until Lest showed up right?

Urk… My head is aching. I’m not one for overthinking.

I’m actually exhausted… My whole body aches. I want to fall asleep, but all I can think about is

How stupid that dwarf is…

Stupid Doug… Why did he leave like that?

He didn’t even show up at the hot bath tonight like always… Did he know I was going to be there too?

Maybe he’s avoiding me. Are we still dating?

We just started going out. We kissed once. Yeah, those two dates kind of sucked, but the kiss was good. I wish we could kiss more and talk less.

Guess it won’t happen if we aren’t dating anymore…

Shut up Dylas. Close your eyes and get some fucking sleep.

Weird. It’s kind of bright behind the curtains. As if the sun is starting to rise.

But that can’t be it… I haven’t even shut my eyes yet.

It can’t possibly already be morning—

“RISE AND SHINE, DYLAS! It’s six am, time to get up!”

I jump at Porcoline’s voice, the big figure walking up to my bedroom singing his usual “good morning” routine.

He opens up the curtains letting the blinding light in, and pulls my covers, humming contently. I am actually used to his flamboyant manners, but today… Today everything about this feels terrible.

I just sink my face back into the pillow, waiting for him to make his way to Arthur’s room. Urk, the brightness hurt my eyes even more…

Damn… I can’t believe I’ve spent yet another sleepless night. I don’t feel like getting up. But then again, what’s the point of staying in bed if you can’t sleep anyway?

After a few minutes of misery, I unbury my head from the pillow only to notice the curtains closed once again. But… why? As I groggily sit on my bed, an odd thing on the top of the bed stand catches my eye. It’s a cup of steaming tea with a note on it.

Did Porco brought those with him? I didn’t even notice… 

I take the note and give it a closer look. They’re… lobster shaped? I squint my tired eyes, and it reads in a frilly letter, with hearts instead of dots:

_“Dear Dylas, I noticed you hadn’t been yourself these last few days so I have a request for you: rest until you’re feeling wonderful again! Meg can help me at the restaurant for a while! If you need any little thing, let me know! Yours truly, Porcoline De Sainte-Coquille”_

When did you even write this, Porco? The man is a puzzle.

I read the note one more time before putting it aside. His concern is heartwarming… I don’t really deserve this kind of treatment.

Then there’s the tea—it surprises me how he managed not to drink it the whole way from the kitchen up to my room. I pick up the teacup… it’s warm on the hands.

I’m not much of a tea person, but after taking a sip I can’t help the relaxing warmth spreading through my body. It’s just how I like it… Relax tea with milk and no sugar.

…

Teacup empty, I have to admit I do feel a lot better now...

I can even close my sore eyes for a change.

I pick the sheets back from the floor and wrap it around myself.

Maybe I’ll get to get some rest after all.

I’ll figure the rest later anyway…

…

—

 

Hm…

W-wh…

 _What time is it?..._ I ask myself as I slowly come to my senses.

Why is it so dark in my room?

I’m so confused…

I let out a big yawn, rubbing my eyes as I search for the clock on my nightstand.

It reads…

Eight o’clock.

Hmm… So I only slept for two hours after Porco woke me up?

Weird… I feel so rested.

I throw the clock back in place with a thump, when suddenly a familiar voice says out of nowhere.

“Gee, you finally woke up!”

I jump in shock, turning on the lights.

Sitting on the chair by the side of my table is that good for nothing dwarf, arms crossed, a weary look on his face.

D-Doug?

How didn’t I notice him here?

What is he doing here anyway??

“You’ve slept through the whole freaking day! I was getting tired of waiting…” He says, rubbing his eyes in annoyance. For how long has he been here? Wait, did he say “the whole day”? It’s actually **8PM** now?

I had woken disoriented from naps before, but this one takes the prize.

Doug takes the chair and places it closer to the bedside, sitting on it again and letting out a deep sigh. Then, looking me in the eyes, he says:

“Hey… W-we need to talk.”


	8. Onigiri

_We need to talk._

If only there were words to describe how much I hate this sentence. Why can’t people just start talking instead of announcing it? Is it to create suspense? I’ll never know.

I’m biting my lip as Doug looks at the floor, fumbling his fingers.

“Look... I…”, he starts, looking up to face me, “I-I’m… sorry for leaving like that yesterday.”

His expression is full of guilt, and somehow it makes me feel guilty too. I take a deep breath, only realizing now that I was holding my breath the entire time.

“It’s okay, I guess…” I lie, not planning to confess I spent a sleepless night because of that. “Why… why did you do that though?”

Doug opens his mouth but no sound comes out of it.

“I didn’t want to… You know…” He stops and looks away again—what’s with you today, thinking before speaking? That’s not like you at all. I shift in my bed as I wait for him to talk, when I realize my robe is almost full open.

Dammit. I fix myself in a blink, heat spreading through my cheeks. Doug didn’t seem to notice it though—or at least, he pretended not to.

That’s when it hit me how much of a mess I may be right now: bad breath, gunk in the eyes, terrible bed hair... Of course this is not the first time Doug ever sees me like this, there were all those sleepovers over at Arthur’s room. Then why I’m embarrassed now?

Suddenly my stomach roars, almost as loud as Doug’s the other day. There’s no doubt he heard that too, he’s looking at me now.

He stands up and grabs a package that was sitting on my desk, looking almost content for the interruption. As if my stomach saved him from saying whatever he was trying to say.

“I figured you’d be hungry when you wake up…” He sits back on his chair, proudly opening the lunchbox. “So I’ve made you these!”

I look down at the bento and there they were. Plain and simple rice balls, wrapped in seaweed. Probably the only thing he can cook without messing up.

_That was mean, dumbass. Say thanks._

“T-thanks, I really am hungry.” My stomach groans again, so I just take a bite out of the soft—and a bit stickier than necessary—onigiri.

!!

This tastes…

Sweet??

Is it too rude to spit all out? He’s watching me with expectant eyes.

Shit. Just swallow it first. Don’t be rude.

…

Goddammit… the sugar definitely lingers on the mouth.

I try to fake a smile but I can’t help it anymore.

“Why would you make me a _sweet_ onigiri, you shrimp? You know I can’t stand sugar!” I snap, tossing the half-bitten rice ball back into the bento. Doug just looks at me, eyes wide open in shock.

Water, I need water. I reach for the glass of water on my bedstand as Doug stares at the bento in confusion.

“What are you talking about, sway-back? These are regular onigiri, granny said the rice needs vinegar and also a bit of sugar!” He says, his tone ranging from confusion to anger.

“Don’t you try to teach me how to make onigiri! It’s such an amateur recipe, I don’t know how you messed up this bad!” I say, finishing my water, glad that the taste is no more. He grabs one of the sickenly sweet rice balls.

“I bet you’re just exaggerating.” He says with a frown, before taking a bite himself. I just wait and watch him. He stops chewing and keeps still for a full minute, before spitting it all back into the bento. It’s hard to contain the grin on my face.

“H-huh… I guess I _may_ have added too much sugar…” He stammers as he wipes his mouth in his sleeve, a look of defeat on his flustered face. He sighs and puts the failure bento aside, his pouting kind of making me guilty for being so rude though…

“Well… Maybe I’ve been spending way too much time with Vishnal. Guess that sucking at the kitchen can be contagious huh?” He says, laughing of himself now. I’m glad he’s smiling again, but something about what he just said bothers me. I can’t put my finger on it, though…

Doug notices it before me.

“What? Don’t tell me you’re jealous?” He asks, a smile widening at his face.

What?

“A-am not!” I shout, not so sure myself. By the way he’s looking at me I can tell I didn’t convince him. My throat is hot all of a sudden.

Tsk, why the hell would I be jealous of Doug spending time with Vishnal? It makes no sense… I know they’re just friends, no big deal. Sure, Vishnal is the second prettiest guy I know, but. Urk…

Why is this making him happy anyway?? He looks so proud of himself, just like he was with the rice balls at first.

“I didn’t know you liked me so much.” He finally says, his bright smile paralyzing me for a moment.

Wait. What did he just say?

“I-idiot…” I murmur as I cover my face, praying he doesn’t notice the red that stings on my cheeks…

He just sits there, smiling at the floor as I try to recover from the shame. His simple presence makes my own room so much alien to me: like, it makes me happy but at the same time, my stomach feels ill. Maybe the latter is just that terrible onigiri effect.

That’s when I realize I’m still hungry, and still on my pajamas.

“Huh… You know, I could use some lunch about now.” I say, forgetting that it is already night. “Or dinner.”

“Yeah, me too. I was pretty sure I had nailed these rice balls so I didn’t eat nothing at home…”

“So you said you made those for me but you were planning on stealing a bite all along?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. He grins at this.

“Pretty much.” He laughs. Doug never changes, does he?

“Anyway,” he continues, “want to go grab dinner together?”

Does he means like yet another date?

“That is—if you’re not sick of hanging around me all the time.” He adds, rubbing his arms.

“Of course not.” I answer, maybe too quickly. “Just let me get changed…”

“Okay, I’ll see you downstairs!” Doug beams up, sprinting out of my room. He comes back seconds later, grabs the bento he forgot on my desk and rushes out, closing the door behind with a smile on his face.

Third date then. Here we go.


	9. Dinner

“Dylas, you have to see this!!” Doug shouts from behind the door as I finish dressing myself—just need to fix my jacket and we’re done. Couldn’t work much with the bed hair though. That idiot hair is still falling on my face—but that’s not new.

“What you talking about?” I say, but as soon as I open the door, he grabs my hand and starts rushing downstairs, taking me along. I almost trip on myself twice—damn, he better has a good excuse for this.

He stops by the end of the stairs to catch his breath, but doesn’t let go of my hand. Which is kind of odd now that I stop to think about it. His hand is not actually small, but mine is so much bigger in comparison. I wrap my long fingers around his and run my thumb along the soft skin…

That’s when I remember we’re at the restaurant and therefore someone could spot us, so I brush my hand off his in a blink.

“Hey, what’s with that?” He says, glaring at me as he grabs my hand again. “Anyway, look!”

Tsk, what’s the matter with him? I lift my eyes from our hands, what could be so unusual about the restau—

Wait.

Why is so dark in here? Where’s Porco or everybody else? And what is this amazing smell?... On the center of the restaurant, there’s a table set for two, a bright candlelight flickering.

“Did… did you make this?” I ask, uncertain of what I’m seeing.

“No! I looked over for Porco but couldn’t find him. Maybe… this is for us? Can we eat it?” Doug says, eagerly interested on the great smelling food. He firms the grip on my hand as he walks towards the table.

On closer look, there are generous portions of some of our favorite plates such as tempura, sashimi and white rice. Urk, this does make my stomach grumble… Doug is even drooling a bit. There’s also a nice bottle of wine from the restaurant cellar, though I’m pretty sure unlike me, Doug doesn’t drink. Wait, there’s a note close to the wine—no wonder the dwarf overlooked this at first.

I take the piece of paper and let go of Doug’s hand to unfold it. Oh, it’s the familiar frilly handwriting with hearts instead of dots…

_“Dear Dylas, Doug has been up in your room for a while now. I figured you’d be hungry after you-know-what *wink wink* so here’s a treat for the two of you! The place is closed so you won’t have any interruptions! With love, Porcoline De Saint-Coquile.”_

…

WHAT??

I stare at it in disbelieve, feeling my face burning up.

“Hey, what’s this?” Doug asks, trying to steal the note from my hands.

“N-n-nothing!!”, I panic, crumbling the paper and tossing it aside, “I-I mean, nothing important.”

Doug looks at me in confusion as I clear my throat, praying that is dark enough so he can’t see the pink on my face. “A-anyway, the food is for us. Do you want me to go turn on the lights or something?”

“Nah, candles are cool. It kind of sets a nice mood, don’t you think?” Doug smiles, already taking a seat. “What’s with the note that left you shaking like that, though?”

Urk, can’t he just drop it?

“It’s nothing… Porco just made some REALLY wrong assumptions, that’s all…” My ears burn as I sit across him on the table.

“What kind of assumptions?” He says, tugging a napkin around his collar. His silver eyes are bright and pure right now, I can’t possibly bring myself to say what Porco thought we were doing.

“How about… We just eat now and talk later? Does that sound like a plan?” I suggest, and judging by how he can’t stop staring at the food, he’ll probably agree.

“Hm… Deal!” He says with a big smile, moving to get some food on his plate.

—

 

The food tastes incredible. Even though I’m pretty confident about my own skills, I’m almost an amateur next to Porcoline. And the fact he only ate two of the six dishes he set for us, it must be a record of self-control for him. I need to thank this man next time I see him.

Also, I have to say the candlelight adds a nice touch. I thought it would be weird or uncomfortably romantic, but turns out rather normal once you get used to it. It’s just like any of the other times we had dinner together—except darker. And this time, it’s _officially_ a date.

“Wow, this tempura is SO awesome!”, Doug says with a mouthful of shrimp, “You _need_ to learn how to cook this!”

“Except I already know.” I state, dipping my lobster sashimi in soy sauce.

“You do?!” Doug shouts, spitting out a bit of food in the process. Goddammit dwarf, swallow first, talk later!

“Duh, guess who makes you tempura every now and then?”

Oh, alright, I admit it: sometimes I sneak into the store and leave gifts for Doug when he’s not looking, but… Guess now there’s no need to hide it anymore. Doug swallows his food and looks at me surprised.

“Those were _all_ you? Gee, and to think I was starting to believe in the ‘tempura fairy’…” He stuffs more rice in his mouth with a frown on his face.

 _So I’m a tempura fairy, huh_ … I snicker at the stupid thought as I take a mouthful of rice too.

“But then yours is just as good as Porco, man! You’re REAL good!” He adds, “You’re definitely doing all the cooking once we marry!”

I choke myself at that last sentence. Marry??

Doug suddenly stops and swallows his food with difficulty.  I cough more and more. I swear there’s rice on my fucking lungs now… Breathe…

“Err, I mean, _when, IF_ we get m-married! One day, in the _distant_ future... It’s not like I’m want to get married next week or anything! Haha… Right? Huh, just forget I said anything!” Doug’s words stumble upon each other, and I swear I can feel the heat coming from his face. Though it may be my own embarrassment the cause of it.

 _I could use some of this wine now_ … I open the bottle in a rush and pour myself a glass. Fuck, my hands can’t stop shaking.

Marriage...?

Is this really what he wants? To spend the rest of his life with a dumbass like me? Man, my heart is beating on my throat, is almost hard to gulp down the wine…

I finish my glass and take a _deep_ breath.

…

Nope. I’m still shaking. Not as much as Doug, though. His eyes are focused on his plate, he’s eating in non-stop mode now. How the hell is he even breathing?

I fidget my fingers around the cold glass—it’s not like I do not want marriage. It’s just that I never stopped to think about it, but maybe Doug took my reaction as me rejecting the idea…

And that’s when an answer hit me. I just need the courage to say it.

Doug, he’s still chomping down a MASSIVE amount of food… as for me, I’ve lost completely my appetite. I pour myself another glass, just enough so I can gain the courage I need… I drink it all in one motion, feeling the warmth of it running down my throat and filling up my body.

_That should do it._

“W-well…”, I clear my throat, and put the glass aside, still trying to arrange the words in my mind, “Judging by the onigiri you’ve made me earlier…”

He’s still eating, but his eyes are at me now.

_Just say it._

“I’d be more than happy to take full control of the kitchen once we marry.”

I can’t believe I said that out loud. I look at everywhere but him, feeling my whole face heat up—though that may be the wine. He stops chewing, and I can sense his eyes locked at me.

“You know… I’d kiss you right now if I wasn’t eating.” He says, his mouth still full of food.

I look at him in surprise but almost laugh at the sight. He has bits of food all over his greasy smile, his cheeks are pink and probably full of tempura. So gross...

But yeah… Kiss me?

“Remind me this once dinner is over…” I laugh, feeling lightheaded. Wait, this doesn’t even sound like me at all… Maybe the wine was a mistake.

He swallows and just look at me for a full minute—even in the faint candlelight one could notice the blush creeping up his face. He takes a sip of water before taking off his napkin to wipe out his lips. Tossing the napkin to the floor, he suddenly stands up to, with one move, pull me closer across the table.

“Well… I’m… I’m satisfied already, how about you?” He smiles and bites his lip, looking a bit nervous.

_Satisfied?_

I stare at his mouth and, feeling bold, answer in a whisper:

“Not even a little.”

Then I take him on a kiss.


	10. Touch

So much for being spontaneous… I need to remind myself next time: kisses over dinner tables _do not_ work. The kiss barely even happened when Doug knocked the wine bottle to the floor and made a huge mess out of it. It was only then that I noticed I soaked my vest in soy sauce from leaning on my own plates. Man, I felt so dumb…

We cleaned up that mess already and now we’re upstairs to get some clean clothes. I just need to take off my vest, but Doug could use some fresh pants and socks—he got wine all over him.

I get rid of my soiled vest and then proceed to search from my drawer some shorts I never used, and also a pair of white socks. As I turn to hand them to Doug, he’s sitting on my bed with his chin on his hands, a frown on his face.

“Hey. What’s the matter?” I ask, sitting by his side on the soft mattress, awkwardly patting his back. He lets out a deep sigh, then looks at me with those big grey eyes.

“Did you noticed how our dates never work?

“The first one, there was that stupid accident. Then when we went to the lake I freak out and ditch you. And now, _this_...” He says, gesturing to his wine stained clothes.

“Sorry for messing up the night.” He hangs down his head, sounding uncharacteristically upset at himself.

Damn, cheer up, dwarf. I’m having a nice time.

“Hey, you didn’t mess up,” I answer to reassure him, “The night isn’t over yet. You know, I just woke up, I’m not sleepy at all.”

I only realize how suggestive that sounded when I notice Doug’s ears turning bright red. His cute, pointy, dwarf ears. He’s clenching at his knees now, still facing the floor for a good time.

My hand is still on his back, though I’m not sure at which point I’ve started to caress him. I run my fingers slowly through his back, feeling the feathers of his jacket. Man, his clothes are dumb.

“But you know, you shouldn’t stay in those wine stained pants… You should probably take them off.” I suggest, referring to the spare shorts—sort of. He gives me a nervous look, and just inspects me for a minute, his heart pounding a little faster on his back.

“You drunk, Dylas?” He asks, his ears flaming. Drunk? No, it’s not so easy for a guy my size to get drunk with just two glasses of wine. Though it’s no wonder he wouldn’t know this.

“Not really. I’m just a little more… Relaxed? Unashamed?” I laugh, “Whatever, I _know_ what I’m doing. And I’ll remember this by tomorrow.”

“Remember what?” He grins, playing dumb… Eyes locked at my lips.

Come on, don’t make me say it.

My face heats up as I bring myself closer to him, so close I can feel his scent… To know that nobody can interrupt us right now makes me excited and a little nervous at the same time. His eyes are half shut now, his back trembling under my fingers as we bump noses, our lips finally touching.

My heart beats faster at his soft, warm lips pressed gently against mine… I close my eyes and nibble his lips with my own, feeling him breathe in my mouth as he slightly gasps. He pecks my mouth softly, again and again.

I’m running my hands through his hair, messing with them like he did to me back then. It’s kind of fun. His hands are shyly exploring my back now and it feels so good, but to be honest I have no idea what to do next. I guess that alcohol doesn’t change the fact you’re inexperienced as hell… ‘wonder if it’s the same for Doug.

That’s when his tongue lightly touches my lips during a peck. His wet, warm tongue.

_Maybe if I…_

I lick his lips slowly, his mouth opening in a soft moan in response. Yes, I guess he likes it... He tries to do the same, but our tongues touch instead. I swear this sent a shiver down my spine. 

Grasping his hair, I pull him closer and lick his open mouth, feeling the wetness of his tongue brushing against mine. He gasps for air and then kisses me back, sucking and licking my lips. His hot breath inside my mouth makes me dizzy. I pause to breath when I notice this nagging pain in my neck. Damn, this pose makes my neck ache.

Maybe if we lie on my bed…

…

My face burns at the thought.

I try to break the kiss but Doug’s mouth follow me.

“Hm… Doug…” I breathe between kisses, “Take off your… Shoes.”

“The shoes?” He whispers in my mouth, “I thought drunk Dylas would be more creative than this…” He laughs stupidly, but obeys, kicking them off and then removing the socks. I take off my own and can’t help but grin as I swiftly grab and lie him on my bed, straddling him after. He gasps in shock, his face glowing even hotter than before.

“Is this creative enough for you, dwarf?” I ask, taking my bangs off his face and almost laughing at his befuddled look. He then frowns and takes a grip on my hair and neck, only to kiss me even harder than before. Hmm, the way he’s sucking my tongue… It’s making my pants so tight.

My arms and legs are shaking as I try my best not to collapse over him, even though my own body implores for more contact. He’s biting my lips now, grasping my neck… Damn, this is hot.

Though I’m actually boiling hot under this jacket.

I-is it okay to take off my clothes?...

I need air. I break the kiss and breathe, taking off my coat in a hurry. Doug bites his lip and starts to remove his own jacket, his eyes focused on my trembling hands as I unbutton my white shirt.

Doug… He’s shirtless now, the sight of his pale bare chest making me even harder. I barely finish working on the last button when suddenly he grabs and forces me to lie down with an open shirt, straddling me like I did to him before.

“D-doug…” I moan helpless as he seizes both of my hands, grinning the whole time. He takes me into another wet kiss, his tongue parting my lips, a tight grip on my wrists. The warmth of his soft skin pressed against mine is making me lightheaded.

He starts to rock his hips against mine, and I cry of pleasure inside of his mouth as he slowly grinds himself against my erection. Painfully slow, between hot, wet kisses…

When he finally loosen the grip on my hands, I snatch them away and try to remove my pants. But then he stops moving, and I whine a little at this.

“What’s wrong?” I pant, as he breaks the kiss. His eyes… They’re full of need, but also… Anxiety? I don’t even know…

He bites his lips for a moment, before finally saying “Hey, how… How _far_ do you want to go tonight?”

Oh…

“I… I don’t know, Doug.” I answer honestly, I just want more of whatever this is…

“Can we, huh…” he gives me a nervous smile, “ _Touch_ each other?... You’re okay with this?” He asks, moving his hand to my pants, my cock throbbing at the touch…

Sure, why would you even ask?

I nod, craving his mouth more than never. He kisses me again, his hand now slowly playing with me over my pants; rubbing it and squeezing it, harder and faster. I can’t stop panting in his mouth, fuck... I’ve never been so hard in my life.

I shift under his weight to try and take off my pants. He swallows before working on his own belt, kicking off those wine stained shorts shortly after. I just finish taking off my pants and shirt when he straddles me once again, sitting on my thighs this time—his body so warm...

That’s when I finally take a good look on him. His expression is full of need in those half shut eyes and parted lips—the skin of his face just as red as his hair, his slim chest breathing up and down so fast... Damn. He’s hot... With a grin on his face he grasps his own erection above his underwear, filling me with lust and curiosity.

He starts to stroke himself in slow moves, so damn close to me. His other hand is at my chest now, teasingly tracing his fingers all the way down, until he’s almost reaching for me. Almost… He’s kissing me again, biting my tongue, crying in pleasure at his own touch.

My whole body shudders in anticipation and I can’t take this teasing any longer. I take my hard member out of my briefs and wrap his hand around its length, a shiver running through my whole body, the warmth of his small hand making my stomach ill… He gasps in shock and freezes a bit, his heart beating faster against mine as I suck his wet tongue. After the initial shock, he starts to stroke me a little shyly, making me grunt in misery.

“D-dylas… You’re _h-huge_ …” He pants breaking the kiss, apparently befuddled by my size. He sits up on my thighs again and I already miss his chest against mine. Using both hands, he pumps my whole length slowly, making me squirm, a look of disbelief on his features as he stares at my dick. Damn, you’re making me blush, dwarf…

“I mean…”, he continues, a grin turning up on his lips, “You’re hang like a hor—“

“DON’T YOU DARE!” I interrupt his stupid remark, feeling my throat heat up in anger and shame. He laughs, mouthing me an apology, and proceeds to take off his briefs. Flustered, I punch his chest before removing my own underwear.

He has his hard cock next to mine now, comparing our sizes for an instant, fascinated by how it’s almost twice as big as his. His member pulsing against mine makes me harder…

I bite my lips and hold my breath as I move Doug’s hands away, carefully wrapping my fingers around his hard, stubby cock. He cries in pleasure when I strengthen my grip and start to stroke him, steady and firmly. I gasp for air when he grabs my erection, clumsily touching me once again.

He’s kissing my neck now, I mean, licking it—biting it, sucking it… Damn, it’s so fucking good. I thrust myself in his hand, feeling his whole body tremble as our hard cocks slightly rub against each other.

“Hmm… D-do it again…” He cries on my skin, his grip tight on my cock. I thrust it against him, fully grinding his erection this time. He twists in pleasure, stroking me harder, sucking my neck with fierce… Shit, I can barely breathe.

Doug… H-he’s rubbing his dick on mine now, biting my neck between soft cries. Hmm, my heart is beating on my throat, my body flaming… I’m grasping at his back, desperately jerking myself off on him, grunting, knowing I won’t— _can’t_ last much longer.

“D-dylas!”, he groans in misery, panting in short breaths, “I-I’m gonna—” He grasps his cock and cries in pleasure, his body convulsing against mine as he comes. Damn, I stroke myself at the feel of his hot liquid spilling at my body... Faster, harder… I can’t, I’m—

I squirm almost painfully as pleasure shoots through my body. “F-fuck, D-doug!!” I grunt, coming in my own hands, my body in bliss… Fuck. I need air. I can hardly breathe when Doug collapses above me, my whole body trembling, toes numb…

And as the heat slowly dies off, I can’t help but start to get a little ashamed: we’re both naked in my bed, sweaty and sticky as hell, panting against each other… In the air, the scent of what just happened. Doug’s eyes are half-closed, his open lips twitching in a smile. Out of nowhere, he hugs me tight—which would probably feel better, if we weren’t so sticky…

“D-doug… Don’t you want to get clean?” I ask, still out of breath, as he buries his sweaty head against my neck.

“Hm… No…” He answers, sounding happy. Gross, dwarf, you’re just gross… Laughing, I roll him aside and sit on my bed, reaching for some tissues on my nightstand. Man, I still can’t believe we just touched each other…

I hand him some tissues and proceed to clean that mess on my own body… Just enough so I can dress myself and go take a proper bath—I check on the time. 10pm. Good, the bathhouse is still open for another hour. I search for my clothes on the floor, and start to dress myself, feeling a little dizzy.

“Come on... You need a bath now.” I say to a half-passed out naked Doug, who lazily cleans his own mess.

Gee, he’s hopeless, isn’t he?

“What, will I have to clean you too?” I joke. Such a nasty, lazy dwarf…

“That doesn’t sound half bad.” He snorts, reaching for those clean pair of shorts.

“Tsk… idiot…” I smile.

Just hurry the fuck up.


	11. Memories

A content sigh disturbs the heavy steam in front of my face as I sink into the pool, feeling the hot water warming up my whole body.

 _Ah…_ Today, the water is just how I like it. Scalding hot.

There’s probably nothing in the world better than this…

…

Maybe except for that feeling of _finally_ reeling in a huge catch, after a long struggle.

Or maybe kissing Doug—yeah, Doug is definitely better. I can’t believe I thought about fishing first.

Well... In a way, I guess Doug is my greatest catch to this day—with the longest struggle.

I shake off the embarrassing thought as I watch the dwarf sitting by my side here at the steps of the pool. Just like me, he lets out a content sigh as he sinks his shoulders in the water.

“Man, the water is great tonight!” He says, resting his head on the edge of the pool, a blissful look on his face. He closes his eyes, sighing again before mumbling.

“Just like the day we’ve first met, huh…”

Heh… It surprises me to know he remembers it too. He looks like he’s about to doze off, and I can’t help but smile as I my mind trails back to that day…

It was just my first day in Selphia after centuries of being a Guardian, and it took me aback how different everything was. The old town looked so much bigger and brighter, I could barely recognize it… Though it wasn’t the only thing that changed.

I recall how shocked I was to realize the extra pair of ears, and the tail. I stroke my wet horse ears at the memory… Yeah, I’m used to them now and the new hearing skills did quite improve my fishing, but it was quite the surprise at the time.

Back then, my whole body felt numb after being merged with a monster for so long… From head to toes, it was like I wasn’t in my own frame. The world around me and even my own body felt alien to me, so I went to take a hot bath, to wash this numbness away.

And there he was. Hesitating to enter the water was this short, red haired pointy-eared guy. The look on his face once he saw me entering was a mix of wary and curiosity, as he demonstrated by staring at my new horse features by the corner of his eyes. And he wouldn’t stop. It was driving me mad.

When I was about to enter this pool, he may have warned me how absurdly hot the water was. I’m not sure. But he totally referred to me as “horseman”. That I remember. I angrily retorted by calling him an afraid-of-water-little-chicken (or something like that), completely pissing him off. We kept exchanging nice words for a while…

Wasn’t too long until I felt challenged to enter the water, to prove I could take the _supposedly absurd heat_ he mentioned. Realizing I was about to enter, he did the same, a stubborn look on his face.

Turns out he wasn’t lying.

It took a great effort to keep my tough expression as I felt the water instantly hurting my skin. Damn, I did like hot baths, but this was ridiculous… _What the hell is wrong with the manager of this bath house??_ I thought back then, now I know what an airhead Lin Fa is.

But I didn’t budge, and neither did he. We sat on this very spot of the stairs of that almost-boiling hot pool with a determined look painted in our faces. We kept glaring at each other, just waiting who’d chicken out first.

Neither of us did. In fact, we kept pretending everything was fine, occasionally shouting about how the water wasn’t even hot enough. And just when I was starting to get used to that insufferable heat, the water got hotter. Way hotter. It was probably Xiao Pai’s doing…

I’m not sure how much time passed in our silly painful dispute, but the bath house did have to close before either of us gave up. And once I got out of the water I was surprised by how reinvigorated I felt: all the numbness went away. I felt like in my own body again for a change. Turns out an absurdly hot bath was just what I needed…

That day we parted ways without even exchanging our names—this is the reason why in our future encounters we kept referring to each other with foul names such as midget and gelding. A habit that stuck until today.

But now that I think about it, could that first meeting be the root of all of our other disputes and silly competitions? As if we needed to decide who wins, since the first one ended up in a frustrating draw? Would we fight as much, have we met in a different setting?

…

Or maybe the fights were just to cover up the fact I had a thing for him since day one? I did think the dwarf had a rather nice body, but I’d rather die than admit it to myself.

“z z Z Z Z Z z z!...”

Doug’s loud snore suddenly brings me back to the here and now. It’s only then that I notice he’s resting his head on my shoulder, eyes shut close and mouth hanging open, a constant and noisy snore coming out from him.

Damn, why do you have to be so loud, shrimp? I lower my ears to muffle the sound as I carefully wrap an arm around his shoulders, so he won’t sink. My boyfriend’s shoulders.

_I’m Doug’s boyfriend._

This is still so weird to think. But in a good way, I guess.

I take his damp bangs out of his face, feeling the softness of his pale skin. This would be a much sweeter and tender moment wasn’t he snoring like a hog…

“Hello, it seems is closing time, yes?”

Xiao Pai suddenly appears behind us, making me jump in surprise. I instinctively push Doug away and fail to notice his head sinking into the water. Next thing I know, he’s clumsily standing up in the pool, coughing and spitting water.

I froze in shock, but once Doug finally gets a grip on himself, he gasps at the sight of Xiao.

“HEY!! This is the man’s room!” He tries to cover himself, even though he’s on the same swimsuit he proudly displays on summer. “You can’t be here!!”

“It seems I work here, yes?” She answers, obviously.

“Oh dear, what’s wrong Xiao?” Lin Fa enters the room as well. Doug is freaking out so bad...

“Hm, I don’t know mama. It seems Doug and Dylas don’t want to leave the bath!” Both Lin Fa and Xiao Pai seem unaffected by our presence.

“That’s not—why are both of you here anyway?” Doug’s face is as red as his hair right now.

“Oh my, I know you boys love hot baths but we need to close right now.” She says, with a hand on her cheek and a sorry look on her face.

“I-I’s okay, Lin Fa.” I finally say, turning to face them. “We’re leaving already. But please don’t walk into the changing room so you won’t give Doug a heart attack.”

“Look who’s talking, you almost looked like an ice cream a few seconds ago! You were frozen scared!”

“That’s—urk. Completely true…” I admit, getting up. “Come on, let’s just get changed.”

Doug looks almost surprised for some reason, and so do Lin Fa and Xiao Pai. Was it something I said...?

“Wow, it seems Doug and Dylas are not fighting? What did you put in the bath today mama?” Xiao Pai comments as both of them walk out of the room.

—

 

“I gotta admit it was pretty weird not to have you fighting me back.” Doug says as he finishes dressing himself up. He’s wearing the shorts I let him borrow—though they look almost like pants on him.

“What, did you miss it?” I say, putting on my jacket.

“Hm… A little, yes. You know, old habits.” He says, laughing as he combs his hair.

I can’t help but smile too.

“You’re a weirdo, did you know?”

He sticks his tongue out at me, but he looks happy. I ruffle his damp hair at this.

“Hey! I just combed it, gee!” He protests, taking the comb out again.

“Shut up, you look good. Also, we should get going.” I say, fixing up my own hair.

“Yeah, you probably right...” He crouches to tie his boots, concentrating for a moment. “Hey! Let’s go to my place! Granny is probably already asleep and I, huh… Have _something_ to give you!”

_To his house? Now? Not that I don’t want this but…_

“It will look suspicious if we go together to your house at these hours, Doug.” I whisper at his ear, feeling my face heat up a little for no good reason.

He gets up and, with the biggest grin on his lips, takes my hand into his.

“And who said anyone will see us going?”

Then he teleports us out of the changing room.

—

 

…

“Mama, it seems it is so quiet in there, should we go check out on them?”

“Oh my, no Xiao Pai! You don’t want to give Doug a heart attack, do you?”

“It seems that would be bad, yes?”

“Let’s just wait for them to come out at their own time, okay?”

“Oh, I see… Wait for Doug and Dylas to come out? This may take some time, yes?”

“Hehe. ♪”


	12. Handkerchief

Vertigo. Is all I can feel for a few seconds every damn time I use the Escape Magic. It’s specially worse when someone else conjures it and takes me with them. Like Doug did, to bring us to his bedroom.

As my vision adjusts and the world finally stops spinning, I notice Doug still has a grip on my hand while he silently closes the door and proceeds to move around his room, dragging me with him. Like he’s searching for something.

It’s not the first time I’ve been in Doug’s bedroom, but it always amazes me how much it fits him. Like the way he has a clipboard to hang some memos—but they’re always the same no matter what. Or how there’s a huge bookshelf full from top to bottom—but all the books are full of dust. And also how the only place he keeps tidy up is his desk, where he writes in his precious diary.

Doug’s still looking all over his room in the meantime.

“What are you even doing?” I ask, not bothering to shake off his grip. He mumbles something under his breath and his eyes light up all of a sudden, as he opens the last drawer. Grabbing something out of what appears to be his underwear drawer, he smiles and hands the thing to me.

“There. This is what I wanted to give you!” He says, putting a piece of cloth in my hand.

I’m unsure if I should look at it. I mean, it came from his undergarments’ drawer for gods’ sake… I know we’re boyfriends now, but this still feels inappropriate, somehow. What could this be—

Wait, is that…

“Remember? You lent me your handkerchief on Keeno Lake and I forgot to give it back.” He says with a soft smile.

Yeah… I did forget about it. Yesterday sounds like forever ago. It was when Doug jumped at the lake and couldn’t stop sneezing afterwards—I’m surprised he didn’t catch a cold in the end.

It was also when he left me all alone and worried for nothing.

…

“You know… You can keep it, if you want to.” I decide, handing him the blue piece of cloth back.

“Wait, are you grossed out by it? Cause I used it to blow my nose?? I did wash it!” He says, a bit offended, letting go of my hand to unfold the cloth and show me. It was spotless. “Well, actually it was Granny who washed, but  _still_!”

“It’s not that. Is just… Urk. I don’t know.” I stare at the cloth in his hands and can’t help but feeling silly for a minute. It’s just a handkerchief, yet… “This isn’t a good memento for me.”

Simply put, the restless night after Doug left me sucked.

“Are you talking about yesterday?” He’s avoiding eye contact. “When I… Ditch you and stuff?”

_Of course that’s what I’m talking about, dwarf!_

“Yeah, why did you do that for anyway?” I ask for the second time today, not sure why he’s being so evasive about this.

He folds and unfolds the cloth a few times more before throwing it at the nightstand. Kicking off his shoes, he lies down on his bed like a lifeless beanbag. He faces the ceiling for a long moment, while I uncomfortably shift on the rug beneath my feet, waiting for a proper answer.

The hugest sigh come out from his mouth, before he finally speaks.

“That other day…” He starts, closing his eyes. “Are you aware you were supposed to die on that airship?”

…

What?

Maybe someone could die from that blow in the head, but he sounds as if he’s certain I should be dead by now.

“You’re joking, right?” I ask, feeling a knot in my throat when he shakes his head. Where did he get this terrible idea from anyway?

“You know the flower I gave you back then? There’s a legend about it.” He says.

“It says if you have the flower with you on the moment of your death, it can fool Death to take it instead of you. So you’re left untouched, even though you were about to die the second before, and the plant simply disappears—only to bloom again in a mysterious place.”

So… this is what he thinks? I tricked death just because I unexplainably healed myself and lost the flower at the same time?

This sounds… Farfetched. It could all be a big coincidence, right?

Then again,

I’ve been merged with a monster to produce Runeys for the land for centuries.

My body didn’t age a day in the meantime.

My childhood friend is a giant divine dragon who loves pancakes.

Porcoline can eat a boiling hot bronze stew.

…

_I guess everything is possible in this world._

“Heh,” Doug goes on, ”I  _know_  it sounds crazy. But my parents once told me about this story and I also never believed it for one second. Until, well…”

He swallows and there’s a change in his voice.

“Until the day I wished everyone in my village was carrying one of those.”

Oh…

I sit by his side in the bed, not sure what to do to comfort him. He grabs my hand.

“Anyway,” he continues, grip tightening on my hand, “When I moved here, I heard there was a place said to bloom a similar flower. I never even bothered to look for it, because it didn’t matter anymore… But I kinda promised myself that if I ever found someone important to me, I’d go get it for them. And I’d make sure they would carry it everywhere, in case the legend was real.”

_Someone important…_

_“That’s where you came in!” He concludes, smiling a little._

My heart races faster at his words. Still...

“Hm, weren’t you worried you’d be seen as nuts though? Forcing people to carry a damn flower up and down...” I tease him with a faint smile, to which he laughs in response.

“That’s why I didn’t want to tell you about the legend! You’d think I’m insane.” He traces his thumb on my palm, making circles. “Besides, I always thought I’d date a girl, so the plan of carrying the flower everywhere wasn’t  _so_  weird. She could use it as an accessory or whatever.”

“Oh right. That makes sense.” I say, and I can’t help but ask “When did you realize you had a thing for both girls and guys then?”

He sighs a long sigh before answering.

“Well, maybe I always did. But they sure take this idea out of you in the Empire’s army. They would’ve beat the crap out of me if I ever showed any signs…” He then stops and laughs a little.

“I mean—they would  _try_  to, cause let’s be honest. I could take them all with one arm.” He flexes his arm with a grin. Yeah, there’s  _some_  muscle and little to no fat on his body, but still not enough to take down an entire army.

Furthermore:

“You lost sixty three times at arm wrestling against me.” I state, trying too hard not to laugh at him.

“And so did you!! Don’t go forgetting it was a tie!” He punches me in the chest, trying to look pissed but he’s smiling. I’m happy he sounds glad enough already.

Still, that was a lot to take in…

I may need to lie down for a minute.

“Do you mind?” I ask, gesturing if I could lie by his side. He nods and shifts closer to the wall to give me some room. I take off my shoes and try to fit but, ugh, his bed sure is smaller than mine… My feet are sticking out a little bit.

I take a deep sigh and close my eyes for a moment.

…

“Hey, what if we cuddle? Like two spoons, does that sound good?” He suggests, while trying to take my arm out of his way.

“Huh, okay. Turn around them.” I say, shifting to cuddle him on his ridiculously small bed.

“Hey, I want to be the bigger spoon!” He protests, maybe a little too loud.

“The bigger spoon is supposed to be big!” I mumble at his ear, annoyed at the situation.

“Nng, alright. But next time, I’ll cuddle _you_!” He says, turning to face the wall as I awkwardly wrap my arms around him, tangling our legs together. I’ve never done this before, but judging by how Doug’s suddenly sighing contently, I guess it doesn’t show.

We just lie in silence for a good while, his warmth and the smell of his slightly damp hair… It’s all so pleasant… It’s almost like my every worry is disappearing.

Hm… Except for one.

“You know…” I whisper at his pointy ear. “After all said and done, you still didn’t explain to me why you left me on the lake date.” I ask, feeling his back race against my chest.

He shifts uncomfortably for a minute or two.

“What do you think?” He sighs in frustration. “Lest had just showed up and talked about how you lost the flower on the airship. I put two and two together and realized it. You were supposed to die that day!”

As if that answers anything… You already said that.

“So?... You ran away because…?”

“Because I didn’t want to cry in front of you, dumbass!”, he hisses, “Don’t you realize? If it weren’t for that flower, you would be dead. Gone, forever. And I’d never see you again!”

...

Doug’s heavy breathing is the only sound in his room, his heart silently drumming on his back against my chest.

Damn… I must admit, I for one was never the type to be afraid of death—I always thought I’d embrace it and accept it when my time comes. But now… The thought of being apart from Doug makes my stomach sick for some reason.

I wish I wasn’t so bad with words so I could comfort him better…

With a deep sigh, I pull him closer to me and hold him tighter, placing a soft kiss on the back of his head. I don’t care anymore if that’s mushy or anything…

I just want to make him happy. I want to be with him forever... I…

 _“_ _I love you, Doug_ …”

Those new words escape from my mouth in a whisper, and I can’t control the blush creeping up on my face. Doug gasps and I swear he’s not breathing anymore.

Damn… I’m not ready for romance yet. I’m so embarrassed I could die, thankfully he can’t see my face right now. Oh, no—he turns around to face me, with pink cheeks and watery eyes.

“You… Y-you mean it?” He blabbers, staring into my eyes dumbfounded.

“I-I-I…” Shit, stop stammering! I cover my mouth in shame and nod, looking away from a second. Was it too soon to say it? I mean, I don’t even know what love is but, but—

“I love you too!” He exclaims, cutting off my trail of thought, and I swear I never saw him smiling so brightly before. He hugs me tight, our hearts racing so fast against each other.

Doug…

Doug loves me back.

This makes me stupidly happy somehow.

He has his head buried in my neck and I can feel his smile against my skin. Suddenly, he moves his lips to my ears.

“Hey,” he whispers, “I’m not sleepy yet too. What you gonna do about that?”

And suddenly the heat comes back to my face.


	13. Head

“A-are you sure we should be doing this here?” I whisper at Doug’s ear, my face heating up as he pushes me to lie with my head against his pillow. He takes off his jacket and climbs on top of me, his legs straddling my hips—man, I sure missed his warmth, but…

“I mean, in the other room, B-blossom—“

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Granny’s the heaviest sleeper!” He reassures me with a smile, biting his lips as he focus on hastily taking off my jacket.

My heart beats faster from both excitement and uneasiness. We were not exactly quiet back then in my room, but we were all alone in the house. I do not want to get caught here…

Although—

If Blossom can sleep through Doug’s loud snoring…

_…_

“Hey, wha’s so funny?” He grins, cocking his head as he strips off his shirt, tossing it to the floor. Oh, I may have chuckled at that thought.

“Nothing important.” I smile, feeling less paranoid already. I’m not so sure when, but at some point he unbuttoned my shirt. He runs his cold fingers through my chest, sending me shivers.

“So… We’re doing a round two?”

“Duh, of course...” He answers while helping me take off my shirt clumsily, “I mean, you’ve won the last time… I want a rematch!”

I’ve won what? The hell’s he talking about?

Before I can say anything, he brings his lips to my ears, bare chest against mine. “You’ll see. This time I’ll make _you_ come first…”

Oh. I get it.

I know it doesn’t matter at all, but I just can’t help myself.

“I’d like to see you try.” I challenge him with a grin, my hands running up his back to his neck. He gasps when I grasp his hair and pull him into a kiss, eyelids closing as our lips part against each other.

His tongue searches for mine inside my mouth, wet and warm, and I can’t believe I forgot how good it feels. The softness of lips brushing against mine, his hot breath inside my mouth… It’s so fucking good.

The heat of his body rises as I suck his lower lip, his muffled moans making me dizzy. He grasps my face and tries to pull me closer (as if that’s even possible) making me pant, our hearts pounding so hard against each other.

We break apart for air and he rests his forehead against mine for a second, with eyes closed and cheeks so pink. His parted lips are so red and wet… I can’t help but trace my tongue over his bottom lip before biting it—maybe a little harder than I should. He whines a bit but does the same, only on my neck instead. His mouth sucking my skin gives me shivers.

He shifts himself on top of me so his erection grinds against mine, making me groan under his weight. He alternates soft kisses and violent bites on my chin and neck as I do the same, his hips rocking slowly but hard on me… I’m melting inside, but my pants are growing even tighter.

“Hey, Dylas… Can I—” He whispers, between kisses, his hands shyly moving to the belt of my pants. “Huh… _Try_ something?”

Suddenly my heart beats faster and my brain stops.

“I-I’ll stop if you don’t like it!” He follows up immediately, unbuckling my belt with trembling fingers. “Close your eyes, ‘kay?...”

Unable to think straight, I take a deep breath and oblige, the dark making me anxious and excited at the same time.

Doug… his hands are working at the zipper of my pants. With a little difficulty, he pulls down my pants along with my briefs, my hard cock springing out. I kick off the rest of them while he takes off his own.

My face glows harder when I realize I’m fully naked in Doug’s bed, erect and willingly at his mercy. If my past self could see this…

I moan at his warm lips at my neckline, kissing me slowly all the way down my chest. I gasp for air when his tongue reach for my nipples, a shiver running through my spine as he plays with them.

“Ah—this feels… Good?” I swallow, looking down to see his flushed face against my chest.

“Was that a question?” He breathes, laughing, “And hey! No peeking!”

He pushes my head back to the pillow returning his attention to my chest and I close my eyes again, breathing harder. I can’t help but moan as Doug leaves a trail of wet kisses from my chest to my stomach, biting and licking my skin.

Ah… Doug’s sitting between my legs now, I gasp for air when he wraps his fingers around my length. He pumps it once, twice, making me squirm.

His face’s suddenly closer and—

!!

I-is that his—

“D-d-doug!!” I groan, my whole body coiling at the feel of Doug’s wet lips around the tip of my cock.

“N-no looking!” He hisses, his lips brushing against me as he speaks, making me whine.

He closes both of his shaking hands around my length, shyly licking the head… I shut my eyes tighter and clench my jaws at his warm, wet tongue pressed against my dick, moving around it slowly...

“H-hm…” Doug moans, between licks… ”I always wanted to do this…”

Damn, I’ve never been this excited before. I gasp and curl my toes as his lips envelops me, gently slipping it inside his mouth, my mouth hanging open, panting.

“Ah—Doug!” I hiss, grasping the sheets, crying in pleasure at each inch he takes in. He moans mouthful, wincing a bit and draws back for air, panting, before trying again, his mouth so hot and wet, and—

H-he’s sucking me now?

Fuck, I’m going to come.

“Ah, D-doug,” I wail as it pulses against his throat, my whole body trembling in pleasure, ”S-stop, I’m gonna…”

He draws back panting heavily and starts to stroke me fast, my dick slippery and hard in his hands, my breath ragged and short. Fuck, I can’t—

I cry his name as I come on his hands, every muscle of my body twitching in pleasure as he keeps stroking my throbbing cock until it stops. I’m breathing so hard it hurts.

Damn, this was so fucking good…

My heart is racing and my vision is blurred when I open my eyes, but soon enough I see Doug’s flushed face clearly between my legs. He looks wrecked, but he’s smiling a bit shyly at me and—

Wait—

“Shit, I-I didn’t mean to—“ I blabber as I try to wipe his face, my hands numb and shaking, but he stops me.

“That’s okay! I…” He blushes harder looking away, his voice suddenly a whisper. “I-I like it.”

My cheeks burn at his words—how could he like me coming on his face? It’s so filthy and, and… Oh fuck, on second thought… he actually looks hot like that.

“Well… At least wipe your hands or something before, you know…” I say, flustered, searching for tissues on his nightstand.

“Before what?” He asks, siting on his thighs, pointing out to the second drawer. There are lotion, some socks and a tissue box inside it—I grab two or three tissues and hand it to him.

“You know… Before I take care of you.” I say, groping his cock over his underwear.

But—

…

“W-what?” Doug says defensively, wiping his hands, “S-so, I came in my pants while sucking you, so what??”

His face says “ _Fight me_ ”, but he’s blushing so hard. He’s obviously embarrassed, and I can’t help but laugh.

“Weren’t you the one who said you’d make me come first?”

“Ugh, shut up already!” He groans, cleaning his own mess down his pants with a frown.

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” I give him a hug after he throws the tissue away.

“That’s okay, you can suck me off next time.” He says in my arms, before yawning with a big open mouth. “Right now I’m rather sleepy.”

“Yeah, I should probably go too. I need to work tomorrow.” I can’t possibly slack off another day. He tightens the grip of the hug and buries his face on my neck, purring and breathing heavily.

“Hey Dylas?” He says, his voice a little muffled by my skin.

“Yeah?” I ask, timidly caressing his short and soft red hair.

“I gotta admit… That was what I wanted to give you here. Not your handkerchief…”

After a second of confusion, I finally process what he just said.

“You invited me here to give me head?”

“Yep, pretty much.” He laughs against my skin, tangling our legs together.

“You little devil.”


	14. Festival

The morning light coming from behind the curtains wakes me up. I roll in my bed, feeling rested but a little drowsy. Hm…

My bed never felt so good before. Maybe because it smells like…

Like…

Like Doug.

My whole room smells like him. A mix of… Cooked rice and… Cute boy? I’m not good at describing scents. Especially at morning… What time is it?

I reach for my clock, with groggy moves.

11’o clock.

Already??

Crap, I overslept. How come Porco didn’t wake me up? I just want to help at the restaurant today. I feel like shit for skipping work so many days.

Hurriedly, I take off my pajamas and jump into some pants, cursing every button of my white shirt as I try to dress myself. I put on some clean socks and shoes and, and—

My vest is still ruined with soy sauce… Damn, where’s my jacket?

Tsk. Forget it.

I rush to the bathroom to pee (I really need to) and brush my teeth and fix my hair—it’s helpless as always, but there’s no time today.

In a matter of seconds, I’m downstairs, trying to catch my breath as I walk into the kitchen.

But…

Where’s everybody? The restaurant seems closed for some reason, but…

“Ah, there you are. I was wondering about you, Dylas.” A familiar polite voice comes from the east door.

Arthur?

Wow, It feels like ages since I last saw him. He’s in his usual attire, but instead of his stupid star shaped book, he’s carrying a… Fishing rod?

“Hey. What’s with the pole?” I ask, stepping closer and rubbing my eyes—I should have washed my face, damn…

“Haha, you are kidding me, right? Don’t tell me you forgot.” He laughs, lighthearted as always.

I blink twice.

Forgot what?

Reading my face, Arthur frowns and adjusts his glasses.

“It is Autumn 15th today, Dylas.”

…

Fifteenth…

Oh!

The fishing variety contest.

“D-damn, I can’t believe I forgot it! So that’s why the restaurant is closed today?”

“It seems so.” He chuckles. “The guys are gathering at the town square as usual. Are you coming?”

“S-sure. Just let me grab my gear.”

“I’ll wait for you here, we can go together.” He says, putting his rod aside and taking off a notebook from inside his coat. Tsk… Knowing Arthur, he’ll probably just work during the whole festival.

I rush upstairs and go sort my fishing gear out. What should I use today? What rod, which baits?... I usually organize everything a day before, it’s hard to decide right on spot…

But while trying to decide, I notice something I never saw on my fishing gear before.

A thin layer of dust.

How come…

And that’s when I realize. I didn’t fish not even once during the past four days. These four days I’ve been dating Doug. The last time I’ve spent so much time without fishing was probably when I was a guardian.

Wow, that’s something.

I grab my stuff (decide to go with platinum fishing rod nº3 and an assortment of baits, for the variety), but before I go, I notice an unfamiliar brown bag on the corner of my room.

 _What was that again?_ I squat down to check on it.

Oh, it’s that bag full of yellow flowers Lest gave me. The supposedly miraculous flowers.

…

 _“I should take one with me, maybe I can ask people about it.”_ I think, while pocketing one.

But after the festival that is.

Now, let’s fish!

—

 

“Oh Dylas, by the by, I’m glad you recovered from your illness.” Arthur says while we leave the restaurant, tracing his fingers over some words on his notebook.

Illness? Wha?...

“The heck you talking about?” I ask, carrying both of our fishing rods and biting an apple I grabbed from the restaurant.

“Porco told me you were having some, huh, highly contagious bowel issues, so you didn’t work the last few days.” He says, scratching his cheek.

I stare at Arthur in shock as we keep walking.

What? Why would Porco lie like—

Oh. It was to cover my ass, wasn’t it?

That man is too good.

But still. Did it have to be diarrhea the fake disease??

“Y-yeah. It was pretty bad.” I lie, mouthful of apple. “Can we just talk about something else?”

“Sure. Anyway, the restaurant wasn’t the same without you. I heard that nobody’s dishes made safely to the table for days straight.” He says, with a short laugh, touching his glasses.

“I thought Margaret was helping Porco in my place.” I say, feeling bad.

“Meg doesn’t have the strength to hold the man like you. But she did scold him, I heard it from my own room.”

“I’ll be back tomorrow, don’t worry.” We smile at each other, stepping into the town square.

This place is always a view during festivals. Mysterious and colorful confetti falling everywhere, a flock of tourists trying to buy overpriced juice from Lest’s shop, Volkanon standing proudly in the same spot for hours…

And of course, the guys gathered in front of the castle. I throw the apple core into a trashcan before coming closer to them.

Vishnal seems to be helping Kiel baiting his hook—or at least trying to help, it looks like he pricked his thumb. Ouch…

Doug seems to be half-asleep, supporting himself on his cheap fishing pole. He’s looking like Clorica, to be honest. Didn’t both of them plus Amber had a training last year? The “Get it together” trio or something like that? It didn’t work, apparently.

Leon is the only one who notices us, and smile as we approach—though I can’t never tell if it’s a genuine smile or a plotting smirk.

“Long time no see, Dylas.” He says in his smooth voice and casual smile, fanning himself even though it’s chilly out here. “It’s been pretty boring fishing without you.”

“Yeah, I bet you miss having someone to mess with, huh?” I grin, handing Arthur his fishing rod.

“This is all you take me for? A prankster?” He says, with a fake dejected look. I know it’s fake because he’s grinning the next second, so I just punch his arm lightly as an answer.

Leon is actually nice, but he likes to tease me more than my patience can take.

“Oh, hello Dylas! Are you okay? I heard you were taken to the clinic the other day.” Vishnal asks, his eyes a bit watery as he holds his pricked finger.

“I heard you survived an airship fall!” Kiel adds, smiling cheerfully. “So you’re just like Lest!”

“No, no, he fell _on_ the airship floor, not _off_ the airship...” Doug finally says, rubbing his eyes.

“That’s true. In the future, please refrain from spreading unverified rumors, Kiel.” Arthur comments, adjusting his glasses with one finger. I didn’t know Arthur knew about the airship incident. Maybe Porco told him?

“Hey Dylas, where’s your jacket?” Kiel asks tilting his head, and now all the eyes are at me.

“Ah, that’s true. You look nice, though.” Leon adds, to which Arthur nods.

“I just couldn’t find it this morning.” I answer, rubbing my neck, uncomfortable with all the attention.

Out of nowhere, Vishnal gasps and asks me with a worried face:

“Are you hurt, Dylas?”

What does he mean?

“Your neck is all bruised!” He says, touching his own neck.

…What?

“I-is that so?” I say, in confusion. Doug’s face is getting weirdly red, I wonder why—

Wait…!

Those are hickeys, aren’t they??

I can’t help the burning in my face as I try my best to cover them with the collar of my shirt, just praying for the issue to be dropped.

“Now that you mention, Doug’s has a light bruise too. Did you two got into a fight?” Kiel asks innocent enough, pointing out to Doug’s neck. I shouldn’t bite so hard yesterday.

I want to die.

Arthur’s discretely adverts his eyes back to his notebook and I’m not sure if Leon is grinning or twisting his lips behind his fan.

Before they can say anything else, I excuse myself, lamely saying I still need to register for the festival or something. So I just shield myself behind Volkanon, cowardly waiting for these guys to disperse. After a while, they all follow their ways and Doug follows me to the direction nobody went. To the bridge at the town’s entrance.

And there, I just bait my hook and cast the line, sitting on the cold hard floor, trying to relax. My shaking hands will probably affect today’s contest result though…

Doug sits by my side, but doesn’t actually use his fishing rod. Rather, he tosses it aside, resting his face on his hands.

The wind is blowing hard, making me regret not having searched for my jacket more thoroughly this morning…

“They know now, don’t they?” He says after a minute of silence, staring at the lake.

I clench my fingers around the fishing pole. I never stopped to think through how I’d tell everyone about… Doug and me. So today’s events were quite… Ugh.

“Kiel and Vishnal probably don’t suspect a thing. But did you see Arthur and Leon’s face?” He continues, as I notice way too late the tug on my line.

The fish is gone by the time I reel in.

“Yeah…” I say, frustrated, baiting the hook with a fat maggot now. It’s lunch time, but I’ve lost my appetite completely…

“Do you think anyone else noticed… That we’re a thing?” He asks, sounding worried as he fidgets with a stick he caught off the ground. I try to remember if anyone else could have saw us…

“I mean, besides Lest. He probably knows too: remember Keeno Lake? He caught us in the middle of a date.” He goes on. “He didn’t seem to mind much though…”

Then I remember Porcoline’s note, and that dinner he made us.

“Porco definitely knows.” I say, trying to move my hook closer to a big fish shadow.

“You told him?!” Doug shouts, surprised.

 _Shh_ , quiet Doug, or else you’ll scare the…

And it’s gone. I sigh…

“I haven’t told, but he noticed it anyway!” I hiss, rubbing my nose bridge. Damn, I won’t reel in not even one prawn today, will I?

“Oh.” He murmurs, drawing circles on the dirt, frowning. “I… I don’t know how to tell Granny. She mentioned once how she’d love to have grandchildren and I just... Just…” He let out the biggest sigh, dropping the stick.

Not knowing what to say, I just bite my lip and stay in silence for a few minutes. I did wish I was wiser and not so bad with words so I could help him (and myself) with this but…

Suddenly, Doug grabs a pebble from the bridge and—

“Hey! You’ll scare off the fish!” I groan as he throws it into the water. It sinks.

“What fish? You got nothing!” He answers acidly, grabbing another one and sinking it as well.

Damn. You’re getting on my nerves, dwarf…

“What are you even trying to do??” I yell as he keeps throwing rocks at the lake, scaring each fish that gets closer.

“I’m _trying_ to talk important stuff and you’re not even paying attention!”

“So you’re acting like a child now?” I say, reeling in my empty fishing rod.

“And you’re being such a jerk!” He shouts back at me, his face red.

Tsk, it’s been a while I don’t get _this_ annoyed at him like this. My throat is burning with rage…

“Hey, where you going?” He asks, his face frowned, while I take my stuff and get up.

“I’m going to fish. In peace. Do _not_ bother me!” I scold, turning away from him.

After a few steps I just hear him standing up and screaming “Fine!”, before he teleports away. I stand in my place for a while.

Once it gets easier to breathe and my nerves calm down a little, I turn around and face the empty space where he was sitting.

And I can’t help this ache in my chest.


	15. Shrimp

Another shrimp…

I throw it into the basket. Ugh, I’ve been fishing for almost two, maybe three hours now, I even shifted from four different lakes, but still, all I’m catching today is prawn.

This is especially odd because I’m at Autumn River, where I could never catch it even when I wanted to!

Freaking shrimp. If only this was some sort of Shrimp festival instead of Variety contest…

I hate to admit it, but instead of relaxing, fishing is stressing me out today. Furthermore, I can’t stop thinking about Doug.

_“Was I really being an ass to him?”_

_“Why he got so mad at me?”_

_“Should have I gone after him?”_

_“Is he still pissed at me?”_

_“Why all I’m fishing is shrimp??”_

Many questions float through my mind as the line tugs, and I reel in a… big prawn. This is getting ridiculous. Maybe I’m cursed?

I toss my fishing rod to the floor and lie down on the orange grass, the autumn wind chilling my face. I close my eyes, frustrated and angry at Doug, at myself and mostly at those shrimps.

A shadow hangs over my face—literally, so I open my eyes and, looking down on me, there is Lest. He has his usual smile and a huge basket full of fishes. Even some rockfish, I can tell, by the distinct stench it exhales.

“Hi Dylas, how many did you catch already?” He says, readying his fishing rod and sitting by my side. His casting technique is getting better every time.

“Huh, how, how many do _you_ have?” I dodge the question, sitting up to hide my basket full of shrimp.

“Well, so far, I caught… 999999 different types of fish!”

“What??”

He laughs, making me blush at my own stupidity.

“You actually believed it?” He says, before returning his attention to the tugging line.

He catches a 70cm salmon right off the bat.

I’ve caught bigger ones, of course, but not today.

“So, why aren’t you fishing right now? Think you’re way ahead of competition already? I’ll have you know I’m putting up a fight this year.” Lest asks, putting the frantic fish inside his bag. I honestly don’t understand how it fits.

“Pretty sure anyone who fishes two types of fish will defeat me anyway…” I say under my breath. Damn, I haven’t lost a fishing festival in six years, not even once… This is so hard to swallow.

He gives me a concerned look and put down his rod.

“Wow, are you okay, Dylas? You look upset…”

Tsk… I don’t want to talk about it. I _can’t_ talk about it.

“It’s nothing. Go back to your fishing.” I say sharply, with a dismissing hand wave.

“No way, you’re definitely not okay. Come on, talk to me.”

At my stubborn silence, he frowns.

“Dylas, how can I fish in peace knowing a friend is struggling with a problem alone?”

Wait—

_How can I fish in peace… Knowing a friend’s struggling…_

His words hit me like a brick.

It was exactly what I did to Doug a while ago. I kept fishing while he… He…

Damnit. I’m so dumb.

“Fuck… I’ve been a terrible boyfr—er, friend to Doug…” I think out loud, feeling an ache nagging my eyes.

“Oh. I see, this is why you’re distressed…” Lest says, a hint of a smile turning up on his lips. “If that’s the case, don’t worry about a thing. You’ll work it out, whatever it is happening.”

“You think so?” I ask, my voice inadvertently weak, making me hate myself.

He smiles brightly, patting my back. “I know so! Doug can be pretty stubborn at times, but nothing can be as bad as when he was ignoring everyone. Just keep gifting him some food, he’ll eventually stop being mad.”

He gives me a look that says _“Trust me”_ and I can’t help but smile.

That did help… I even feel a little lighter now.

“Thanks Lest. I need to get going…”

“Anytime, Dylas!” He says as he leaves.

I grab my stuff to go back home.

I still don’t know what to do about our other problems… But at least I know what to do with the shrimps now.


	16. Tempura

It’s a good thing today’s a holiday, I can use the kitchen freely for a change. I scoop the last pieces of shrimp from the boiling oil and turn off the stove, wiping my oily hands on my apron.

There. Now combined with the rice that should be ready in a few minutes, we have tempura bowl. Doug’s favorite dish ever.

I should probably bathe before gifting him this though… I smell like, like… Greasy oil and shrimp guts.

Yeah… A bath is definitely in need.

—

 

My palms are sweating from being in front of Doug’s house—or in the case, the General Store door. I’ve done this before, countless times. But, usually, I’d sneak in the store, abandon the lunchbox on the counter and escape the hell out of there before anyone could see me.

Now I’m not sure how to proceed. Should I wait for him? Straight-ahead walk upstairs? Is he even home? What should I say if Blossom asks—

“Oh, good afternoon Dylas. I’m afraid the store is closed today.” Blossom’s frail voice comes from behind me and I freeze in my place. Where did she even come from?

“Did you have fun at today’s festival?” She asks, and I turn around to face her. She has a walking cane in one hand and on the other, a fishing rod with some fishes hanging from it. “I love fishing contests! Today I’m cooking squid. Doug will like it. It’s been a while since I last made it!”

Old people are funny, they can practically talk by themselves.

Oh, I should probably…

“Huh, I-I… Made some tempura for—“ I swallow, my hands shaking around the bento, “Doug... Can you give it to him?”

“Oh my, that’s so nice of you, Dylas.” She says with a soft smile, stepping into the shop. “But he probably would be happier if you give it to him yourself. Here, come inside.”

“Is he even here? I don’t know where he headed to after—er, the festival.” I say, walking into the store after her. It always amazes me how much stuff they can keep in such a small place.

“Doug told me he wasn’t feeling good, so he is resting in his room.” Blossom says, walking upstairs a bit slowly but steady. I carry her fishing rod for her.

“Wait. Doug’s sick?” I ask, feeling guilty somehow.

“He is just faking it. He tries that quite a lot, thinking he’s fooling someone. I just let it slip today because it’s a Festival day, ahaha.” She chuckles, as we reach upstairs and I return her fishing rod.

“Doug, I’m home.” Blossom says a bit louder, coughing afterwards. Doug just makes a grumpy noise from his room in response, the door half open.

I stand in my spot feeling like an awkward intruder, while Blossom goes on to finish her chores, storing the fish she caught, putting away the fishing rod, sweeping the floor.

“Dylas, what are you doing just standing here? Doug is inside his room, go talk to him.” Blossom frowns at me, poking me with the broomstick to Doug’s door. “The boy gets lonely too easy, go cheer him up.”

Before I can protest, I see myself walking past his door room and stepping into his rug, Blossom closing the door behind me.

Doug is lying on his bed with his usual clothes, a pillow over his head that he lowers down once he hears the commotion. He gasps when he sees me, frowning his eyebrows shortly after.

“What do you want?” He says, sitting up on his bed to face me. He doesn’t look the slightest sick, Blossom does know him well.

“Huh… I. I made you this.” I say, stepping closer and handing him the tempura. “Careful, it’s hot.”

He looks at me wary, but grabs the lunchbox anyway. His face lightens up when he opens it, the smell of tempura coming out in a puffy cloud.

“As an apology for, you know. Being an ass.” I say, lowering my ears.

“Wow, wow. That’s a lot of shrimp!” He says excitedly, apparently forgetting he was mad at me at in the first place. “Did you fish those for me?”

“Er…” I scratch my head, looking away. “N-not really. I couldn’t fish anything else…”

“Oh...” He says, the smile fading out of his lips as he closes the lid again. “Well, thanks anyway. I guess.”

I shift my feet over the rug. Is that it? Did it work?

“So… Are we cool now?” I ask, trying to read Doug’s face. Frowned eyebrows, a pout, dull eyes... Yep. It looks like he’s still annoyed at me, dammit.

“Would you be cool if you boyfriend liked something better than you?” He hisses, putting the lunchbox over the nightstand.

Oh no…

“The hell you’re talking about, shrimp?”

“You totally love fishing more than me!”

“You don’t even like fishing, anyone loves fishing more than you do!”

“That’s _not_ what I meant and you know it!”

A knock on the door interrupts our argument.

“Doug, I’m putting on the table. Will Dylas stay for supper?” Blossom’s weak voice comes from beyond the closed door.

Doug stares at the door and then at me, the angry look in his eyes piercing through me.

“Will you?” He asks, and I’m not sure if he wants me to or not.

Damn, I’m so uneasy…

“Huh, no, thanks Blossom! I have to go.” I shout despite the knot in my throat.

Instead of leaving though, I just stand still for a while, looking at the floor. Dammit… I only managed to get Doug angrier, somehow…

Doug keeps staring at me, the air tense between us. I may be pretty stupid to not understand what’s going on… I apologized already. What else does he want to hear?

…That I’m a dumb horse?

That I’ll cook him more tempura?

That I—

…

Oh. That’s it, isn’t it?...

“Doug, I-I do love you more than fishing, you know that right?” The words stumble upon each other as they leave my mouth, making me die a little in shame. Did he get that? He’s silent. Please don’t make me repeat it…

“B-bullshit…” He answers under his breath after a minute, his cheeks turning pink.

“I mean it… I…” I say, remembering the dust on my fishing gear. “I haven’t fished all this time I’ve been with you. And I didn’t even miss it.”

“Then what was that today? I was practically talking by myself at the bridge!” He says, fidgeting the fluffy of his coat.

I… Ugh.

“…I’m sorry.” I say, fixing the crumpled rug with my feet. “I think I…”

Didn’t want to deal with that at the time.

…

I’m such a shitty boyfriend.

“Sorry, I guess I’m just not good at this relationship thing yet.” I say and he snorts a little, as if confirming my statement.

“I’m too dense for my own good, and sometimes I act and speak without thinking.” I go on. “This may not be the last time I upset you but…”

I look into his eyes, the anger all gone from his face.

“But… If you bear with me, I’ll try to become better.”

My heart is beating on my throat. I’m not used to speak up my feelings like that…

Doug looks contemplative for a minute before standing up from his bed. He steps closer to me and in one swift move, he pulls me into a hug so tight all the air leaves my lungs.

“So…” I wheeze, hugging him and trying to regain my breath. “ _Now_ we’re cool?”

He buries his head in my chest and nods, muttering a soft “Yep.”

Phew… I rest my head on top of his, the smell of his shampoo and the warmth of his embrace overwhelming me. I didn’t even know how much I missed him…

“I guess now we just need to figure out how and when to come out for everyone, huh?” He says, easing the grip and looking up to me, with a shy smile.

“Yeah… We’ll think through this together.” I kiss his forehead, feeling sappy. He crinkles his nose and blushes, suddenly bringing his lips up to mine.

The door opens silently on us.

“Food’s getting cold Doug! What are you even—“

Oh shit.

We split apart in a fraction of a second but still—

Blossom’s staring at us, her mouth hanging open.

And my heart is about to jump through my throat.


	17. Scolding

“I-I c-can explain it, G-granny!!” Doug waves his hands, his voice faltering as he walks towards Blossom.

She blinks twice looking at us, frowning her thin white eyebrows.

“Are you two… Dating?” She asks, in a dead serious tone. Doug stops on his feet.

I forgot how to breathe, my legs are shaking and I just turn to Doug, who stiffly nods after a minute. He’s sweating cold on his neck.

She lightly stomps her walking cane on the floor while she approaches us, glaring with reprehensive blue eyes. How can someone so small be this intimidating?

Then she stops in front of Doug.

“Well, that’s just not right.”

Her words had such a blow on me I’m surprised I’m still standing up… Right now, all I want to do is escape home—but I can’t leave Doug alone now. Not after all that talk of trying to become a better boyfriend.

That is—

If I still get to be his boyfriend after today.

I can only imagine what she’s going to say next.

…

_“Two men together? That’s so wrong.”_

_“I don’t want you close to Doug, never again.”_

_“Get away from my house, you pervert.”_

…

“A couple can’t be _alone_ in the _same_ room before marriage!” Blossom finally says, shaking her head. “It’s just… Scandalous!”

…What?

I look back to Doug, a dazed look on his watery eyes.

“If I knew you were already dating, I would have never closed the door!” She grabs Doug’s pointy ear, like an annoyed old teacher. “For how long has this been going on?”

“Ouch, I’m s-sorry Granny! It’s been like, four days only, I swear!” He says, and she lets him go, both hands back on the walking cane.

“Hmph. Alright. Make sure you boys date properly in the living room, or with the open door next time. I might not look like, but I’m pretty old fashioned about things like these!” She finishes with a puff.

Wha…

Next time?

So that’s it?

She’s okay with her grandson dating another guy (as long as if appropriately)?

“So y-you…” Doug starts, swallowing. “You don’t mind that me and Dylas… That I-I’m…”

“Of course not.” She interrupts him, waving a hand, “Besides hiding this from me, you didn’t do nothing wrong…”

 _Except we did._ I think mutely to myself, remembering how damn _intimate_ we got yesterday.

Doug is at a lack for words and he’s trembling a little when Blossom comes closer and hugs him. I just stand aside, uncomfortably clenching and unclenching my fists, like the intruder I am.

“Is there something else you want to tell me?” She says, comforting him with little pats on his back. This makes me panic a little, because I can’t see Doug’s face—what if he confesses her what else we did I, I—

“N-no…” He says, to my relief.

…

I’m probably a horrible person.

“B-but it’s so weird Granny, it’s like… It’s like you’re not even surprised.”

“Oh Doug.” She lets go of the hug, holding back a laugh. “You and Dylas? A surprise??”

I’m almost offended by how hard she’s laughing now, supporting herself on Doug to not fall back.

“Were we really _that_ obvious??” He whispers to me, pointing to Blossom crying in laughter. I just shrug, clueless.

“Doug, Doug… The only one in town who never noticed your crush is probably Dylas himself.” She says, wiping a tear from her eyes and facing me now. “Right, Dylas?”

What??

“Anyway, Dylas…” She says, with a soft smile. “This one’s a troublesome kid if I ever seen one. You sure you can take care of him?”

“You’re making me sound like a dog, granny…” I hear Doug murmurs to her, to which she just smiles back.

Take care of Doug?

“I’ll try.” I answer honestly, hoping I sounded optimistic rather than negligent. Judging by the way Blossom is smiling back at me, I guess it came out alright.

“I’ll take care of you too!!” Doug exclaims to me, out of nowhere, “I’m not a dog after all!”

I try not to blush at his words, hissing a “Nobody said you were one!” to hide my embarrassment. Blossom just chuckles, going back to the kitchen in slow paces.

“Anyway, I hope you like cold grilled squid, cause that’s what we’re having for supper.”

“Oh, and also Dylas’ tempura granny!” Doug says, walking back into his room to grab the bento. I completely forgot about it, I’m glad he liked the gift enough to remember.

“Hey, why don’t you eat with us?” He asks, lunchbox in hands. Despite my curiosity to see Doug eating my tempura for the first time, I refuse.

There’s someone I need to talk to.


	18. Family

Upstairs the restaurant, Arthur is walking towards his room across the dimly lighted hallway.

“Hey, is Porco home?” I ask him, dodging past the stuff on the floor. It’s mostly Porco’s stuff and it doesn’t even bother that much, I don’t know why Margaret fuss so much about it.

“Yes, I believe he’s in his room. Oh, by the way, do you want one?” With a smile, he offers me one of the rice balls he’s carrying.

“Thanks, I think I could use a snack...” I take it, giving it a full bite.

Hm, this is great. There seems to be some sashimi between the soft rice and…

Ah, it’s salmon onigiri! Arthur’s favorite. I bet Lest was the one who made it, with that big salmon he caught today…

“I have to say it was quite a surprise not seeing your face between today’s winners, Dylas. You should’ve seen Lest’s face for finally taking first place.” He chuckles, with a blush on his cheeks and a little sigh escaping his lips.

Everybody knows Arthur has a soft spot for cute stuff, and there’s no denying Lest _is_ cute. But Arthur doesn’t even try to hide it. It’s ridiculous.

Now about the festival…

“Yeah… That was a first, huh?” I say, swallowing my pride and a mouthful of rice.

“The whole town was shocked. This is probably going to be tomorrow’s talk all over Selphia.”

The sting of losing my winning streak is finally hitting me. Ugh… just the thought is making me queasy. Despite that, I finish my onigiri in one bite.

“Well, see you later Arthur. Thanks for the food.” I say, wiping my hands on my shirt and stepping closer to Porco’s door.

“You’re welcome, Dylas. I’ll be in my room working, if you need anything.” He says, walking inside his room.

“Just don’t overwork yourself!” I shout, to which he simply laughs before closing the door.

Urk. Arthur… He’s going to kill himself from so much work any day.

I knock on Porco’s door, and some loud noises follow up. It sounds oddly metallic, like pots and cutlery hitting the floor…

“Yeeees?” Porco’s big head plops from the half-shut door, his typical huge smile glued on his lips. “Oh, Dylas! _Super_ good night!”

“Hey.” I start, not knowing what to say next. Porco’s smell isn’t helping either—he’s always smelling like a different food… Tonight it’s freaking molasses.

I avert my eyes to the ceiling and start to nervously rub my arms, unable to form a sentence—oh, there’s some spider webs up there. Maybe Meg was right about cleaning here more thoroughly.

“Did you and Doug enjoy the dinner?” He asks, with a glint in his eye, his smile turning into a mischievous grin.

Oh right. The dinner he made us yesterday—that was so fucking nice of him.

“Y-yeah… It was great. Thanks.”

Then I remember the note he wrote.

“ _Doug has been in your room for a while. I figured you’d be hungry after ‘you know what’.”_

…

“B-but you got it all wrong! Doug and I… we were not, huh. _Banging_ in my room or anything like that.” My face severely burns while Porcoline just laughs. I clench my fists at my sides, the memory of Doug naked in my bed creeping up.

 _Not before dinner, anyway_.—NO. Don’t say this aloud!

Regaining composure, I continue…

“You probably already know, but…”

_I need to say it._

“Doug and I… We are dating.”

Ugh, it’s kinda hard to breathe. Why is this so embarrassing to say??

“Uhul, marvelous!! It was about time!” He says, his head bouncing up and down in happiness.

“Is everybody this accepting about these things nowadays?” I ask, clenching my arms. I’m pretty sure back in my time, in this town, gay people were not viewed so nicely…

“Not everybody…” His face turns serious for a change. “This kind of love is forbidden in the former Sechs Empire, for instance. Even in other parts of the kingdom, there are not much out of the closet folks. They live their life in fear of what others might think—I was worried this was to become your destiny, Dylas.” Porco says, in an overly dramatic tone, breaking the seriousness of the issue.

“But,” he continues, “Times are changing. For instance, a few decades ago, a relationship between a human and an elf was considered scandalous. Now, there are half-elves living happily among us.”

He stops to stuff a few grapes into his mouth—where did he get those??

“I’m sure it’s just a matter of time until we see the first marvelous married gay couple—“ He says, mouthful, then swallowing all the grapes at once. “We all want your happiness, Dylas!” He beams up, a happy blush on his big face.

Porco…

“Thanks…” I murmur, not sure of what else to say. I’m so touched I could hug him.

Then the molasses stench makes me change my mind.

“Now, if you excuse me, I have unfinished business! _Mega_ good night!” He says, closing the door, the metallic sounds echoing again.

“You better not be eating in your room! You know how that pisses Meg off!” I shout, banging on his door. I glue my ears to the door and he giggles in response.

Damn, he’s helpless, isn’t he?...

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he brought an entire cauldron up to his room.” Arthur’s gentle voice suddenly comes from behind my back, startling me. I turn and he’s just there, in his pajamas, cleaning his glasses. When the hell did he leave his room?

For how long has he been standing there? And worse of all, did he hear anything??

“A-arthur! I…”

“I’m sorry Dylas, I couldn’t help but overhear your talk with Porco. You know how thin these walls are…” He says, with an apologetic look on his face.

Damn, as if it wasn’t even him noticing the hickeys earlier today, now this. Great. What will he think of me now…

“Why were you being so secretive about it? I’m pretty sure nobody will think this as a surprise.”

What?

I look up to see him chuckling.

“I mean, you two have always been so obvious… I’m glad you’re finally together.” He says, patting my shoulder with a genuine smile.

What does he mean by obvious?? First Blossom now Arthur?

I sigh in shame, pocketing my hands, and—

Hey, what’s this again?

There’s something soft inside the pockets of my pants. Ah, it’s the flower I took with me.

Hm… Maybe Arthur knows about it?

“Hey, Art, can you take a look at this for me?”

“Sure, what is this? I believe I never saw a specimen like this before.” He says, as I throw him the big yellow flower.

“I forgot its name… But it is _supposedly_ legendary. Can you, I don’t know, research it for me or something?”

“Hm… Interesting. I’ll ask my contacts tomorrow.” He says, adjusting his glasses as he inspects the flower carefully.

“Okay, thanks Arthur.” I say, walking backwards towards my room. “Night!”

“Good night Dylas!” I hear him saying as I turn around. “Don’t forget you can count on us. We’re family after all.”

I stop at his words.

“Me, Porco, Margaret, you... I know we’re not really blood related but blood doesn’t necessarily mean a thing, right?”

…

“I guess you’re right.” I say, hating this warm feeling in my chest as I watch him smile fondly.

—

 

As I lie in bed to sleep, everybody’s words echo in my mind for a moment or two.

_“Take good care of Doug.”_

_“I’ll take care of you too.”_

_“We all want your happiness!”_

_“You can count on us._

_“We’re family.”_

How can these guys be so nice to a sour puss like me, I’ll never understand.

But I’m happy to be part of their lives…

I sure am.


	19. Tuesdays

“Ugh, finally…” I sigh, stretching my sore arms after wiping up the last table. The cold breeze coming from the open windows sure makes me miss my lost jacket.

“I know right? The restaurant was so full for a Tuesday!” Margaret comments in a chirp tone, sweeping the floor behind me.

“You talk as if that’s a good thing.” I say, taking off my apron. Usually it wouldn’t be that bad, but then I remember all the times I had to listen about yesterday’s fishing contest results throughout the day… Talk about rubbing salt in the wound.

“The more clients, the better!” Meg exclaims, poking me with the broom so I move my feet for her to keep sweeping.

“Only if you’re not the one _trying_ to serve them.” I murmur, but she doesn’t listen. Rather, she hums happily, practically dancing around the restaurant with the broom. “You’re sure chirpy today.”

“Oh, of course I am.” She turns at me, resting her chin on the broomstick with a big smile stamped on her face. “Didn’t you notice anything _different_ about me?”

Different?

…

Her hairdo is weird and flowery as always.

Her face is spotless and silky—while I’m here, greasy and sweaty.

Her clothes are the exactly same as every day.

???

“Huh, did you gain weight again?” I guess, judging by her thighs. They look big, but maybe they were always like this?

“WHAT??”

Oh, I guess they _did_ always look like that. My bad but, unlike Lest, I’ve never been interested in Meg’s body. Maybe because she’s like a nagging older sister to me? Maybe because I am more into skinny dwarves myself?

“HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT?? EVEN IF I DID, I—URK!!” Her face is turning red as she screams in frustration, clenching her fists around the broomstick. Her shrieks are making my ears ache, ugh…

“Kids, stop fighting!” Porco bursts out of the kitchen, wiping his wet hands in his apron. “Is Dylas upsetting you, my darling?”

What? If anything, she’s the one upsetting me with all the riddles and screaming.

“I-it’s okay Porco, I just—“ Meg says rubbing her face, a little calmer now that she screamed all her anger away.

“MEG!! Is that—“ Porco interrupts her, hopping closer to us in a blink. He’s smelling like green apple soap, hopefully from the dishes he was doing (I hope he wasn’t drinking it again.)

“Yes! Yes it is!!” She beams up, dropping the broom to the floor as he grabs her hand. Meg won’t stop giggling and Porco is about to burst in tears.

Did both of them went mad?

What’s happening?

I scratch my neck, watching their linked hands when I finally notice it:

A ring.

There is a thin silver ring (or is it platinum? I can’t tell the difference…), on the third finger of Meg’s right hand.

“Wait, did Lest finally…” I blabber, to which Meg simply bounces up and down from happiness. She’s blushing so much, Porco is sobbing at his sleeve now.

“Congrats…” I say, happy for her but not sure of what else to say.

…

“When’s the wedding?” I ask, wishing I had my handkerchief to lend Porco, who’s starting to look gross.

“Today!!” Meg shouts.

“What??” How can it be today, it’s so dark and late already!

“Haha, you’re so gullible!” She laughs, hugging Porco so he stops crying. “We don’t know when, but first I need to get my dress done. And invite my family in the Elven Kingdom. And decide what to serve, which flowers go in the bouquet, and, and… Ah, there’s so much to do!!” She shrieks, panicking.

“I’ll help you my angel!” Porco grabs her hand, his big determined face all wet and red. “You’ll be the most marvelous bride the kingdom has ever seen!”

“Yes!!” She hops excitedly and then both of them sprint off the restaurant together, to who knows where, leaving me here blinking at the swinging door.

…

Well…

I better lock the restaurant then. Doug’s working today, so I still need to go and help him stock the store, like every Tuesday. It’s not like he ever asked for me to help him, but I felt like doing it anyway ever since we switched jobs that one week. Almost three years ago.

Now I can admit to myself… These moments alone with Doug were always the highlights of my week. I’m not sure why, but when we weren’t around anybody else, we didn’t fight nearly as much—we actually talked like normal people. That’s when I started to realize how much we had in common and how much I liked his company.

Without realizing, I was always looking forward for Tuesdays nights. It was ridiculous… That is—it _still is_ ridiculous, since right now I can’t wait to meet him again.

I wonder if is the same for Meg and Lest.

It probably is, I mean, they have been dating for the longest time, and now they’re even getting married…

The thought made me happier for their marriage somehow.

…

Oh. I should get going.


	20. Jacket

“Nnng!” I grunt, my arms almost failing me as I try to lift this heavy cardboard box from the wooden floor.

“Need help?” Doug says, sitting on the counter across the room and laughing at me. Ha ha, very funny dwarf. I’m the one helping you here.

Every Tuesday after closing time, I help Doug stock the shelves at the General Store. Tonight is no exception—except there’s way more heavy boxes than usual. Usually it wouldn’t be a problem, but after a whole afternoon of struggling to serve the dishes before Porco devours them, I can’t say I’m at my best shape…

“What’s even in these??” I breath, placing it on the highest shelf—the one Doug can only reach with a ladder. There! Phew…

“A new shipment of Iron Leaf. Heavier than it looks, right?” He says, as I stretch my back. He’s looking at me holding his chin, a hint of smile on his lips.

But hey, wait a sec.

“Why am I the only one doing all the work today?”

“ _Because_ there’s only the top shelf stuff now, and both of us know only you can do it!” He states slowly with a frown—he hates reminding of our height difference.

Hmph. And I hate when he’s right…

That’s okay, there’s only one box remaining after all. I crouch to get it and it’s—urk, somehow heavier than the last one. I check the label and it says “Giant Iron Leaf”—I should’ve guessed it.

“Oh, I just reminded! Hang on!” Doug says out of nowhere, jumping out of the counter and rushing upstairs. I lift an eyebrow at him as he disappears—what the hell is he planning?

Before I can lift the box above my head, Doug’s footsteps trot downstairs already, his heavy breath following in small puffs.

“What was that for?” I ask with difficulty, my arms straining as I place the heavy crate on the higher rack. I carefully push it to its place and… PHEW. All done.

I wipe my sweaty aching hands on my shirt when something falls on my shoulders—it shapes my back like a fabric, but it’s kind of heavy and, and...

Oh, it’s my leather jacket!

“You forgot it in my bedroom, I only found it today!” Doug breathes, and I turn around to face him, putting on my jacket already. I felt so naked (and cold) without it…

But wait.

“How could you only find it today?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at him and adjusting the fluffy around my neck. I mean, his room is messy, but definitely not enough for a black leather jacket to go unspotted. Especially for two whole days.

He takes a step back and a strangled noise comes from his mouth, red taking over his face. His eyes are swimming all over the place as he tries to blabber something—but nothing comes out. Damn, Doug, for a former spy you’re such a terrible liar…

“Ugh. A-alright! I admit it.” He says, as if confessing a crime, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I found it on the floor that same night you were here. I’d meant to give it back to you sooner, b-but…”

His voice fades mid-sentence, and I need to lean a bit closer at his next words.

“It smells so much like you.” He murmurs with a frown, embarrassment clear on his burning face and clenched fists.

I blink in surprise, feeling my neck flushing for no good reason.

It _smells_ like me?

Is that a good or a bad thing??

“But... But you were always saying how fish-stinking my jacket is…” I scratch my head, remembering all the times he messed with me about it. He bites his lips, still looking to the floor.

“It is.”

What?

“It does stinks a little bit like fish. It’s kind of disgusting—do you ever wash it?” He says, sharply, giving my throat a knot. Before I can fight him back, his gaze meets mine, intense and vulnerable.

“But… it reminds me _so much_ of you and… I-I like it.” He says under his breath, his face glowing redder.

His little confession makes it harder for me to breathe for some reason, heat spreading through my face and chest.

“You—“

“L-let’s not talk about this anymore, okay??” He waves his hands in a dismissive manner, still blushing like a red pepper as he sits up on the counter again. “What’s important is that you have your stupid jacket back now!”

Yeah, that I do.

A Doug smelling leather jacket.

…

“Tsk. You idiot.” I hiss, to which he looks back at me in surprise.

“You could’ve just asked me. I’d let you borrow it if you wanted to sleep with it, but I need it during the day. It’s starting to get cold, dumbass.” I say, crossing my arms and feeling myself again at the leathery feel of my jacket.

Doug just stares at me for a second, looking dumbfounded. It’s so weird to be at eye level with him…

“How did you know I slept with it??” He asks, his jaw dropping.

“It smells like you now. All over it.” It doesn’t take a genius…

“I-I couldn’t wash it without Granny noticing it! I wouldn’t know how to explain it to her!”

“Don’t be silly, I—

I stop, realizing why he was so embarrassed back then. “Huh, I-I like it too.”

This, why is this so intimate and embarrassing?? My ears are burning, the wooden floor suddenly interesting as never before…

Next thing I know, Doug pulls me closer into his arms, and as I look back to him he’s smiling like there’s no tomorrow.

“You’re kidding me, right?” He asks, laughing a little as he rests his forehead against mine, wrapping his legs around my hips, making me suddenly nervous at the proximity.

“I’m not!” I swallow, propping my shaking hands at the counter. “You smell good. Really good.”

“You too. Fish and everything.” He answers, closing his eyes as he tightens his embrace, his lips still turned up into a smile as they meet mine, our noses bumping a bit.

It’s a simple smooch, just like our first one (which happened in this very same place), but it never fails to make my heart beats faster.

He stops to adjust the angle of attack, tilting his head a little before kissing me again. Deep and wet this time. Oh, I sure missed this. I’m sure glad the store is locked already…

My legs are weakening as he starts to bite my lips—damn, this gets me every single time… I breathe inside his mouth, enjoying the light pain of his fingers digging on my back.

He shamelessly starts to grind himself against me, slowly, closing his legs tighter around my hips. Damn, dwarf…  

“We… can’t…” I breathe between kisses, frowning at him. “Not here.” _Not now too_. He doesn’t stop kissing me, and I’m not sure if I want him to—his touch feels so good…

“Let’s go to your room then.” He suggests in a low voice, smiling as he turns his attention to my neck, kissing it and making me purr.

Nnng…

“The walls in there are freaking thin…” I gasp, remembering for a second how Arthur overheard my talk with Porco. His wet tongue is making me lightheaded, my pants starting to grow uncomfortably tight.

“We’ll keep it quiet.” He whispers against my skin, sucking my neckline with light bites… I bite my lip hard at the feel of Doug’s erection pressing against me—shit, I want him so bad too, but, but…

“We should obey Blossom…” I finally remember, completely out of breath and weak on my knees already.

At this, he ceases his movements, as if he had forgotten about that too. He keeps still for a minute, before finally loosening the grip of his legs and arms—and I immediately miss the heat of his embrace.

“You’re probably right. Tsk...” He says, with a puff, a look of frustration on his flushed face as I step back a little.

I was hoping he’d fight me more about this, but guess I was wrong... He probably doesn’t want to disobey Blossom, not anymore. Not after everything he already did in the past.

“You know, you’re a better grandson than you try to come across as.” I say, grinning at him.

“Oh, shut up!” He pushes me away, blushing. He rubs his face with one hand, the other one adjusting the bulge on his pants, making me remember my own aching and ignored hard on. A long, exaggerated sigh escapes his lips.

“You know”, he goes on, “I’ll end up with a wrist sprain if we don’t marry soon enough—”

Then he stops talking at the same time I stop thinking.


	21. Yearning

Doug covers his mouth and looks away at his last sentence, while I’m here, staring at him dumbfounded. In the silence that fell between us, my heart pounds loudly on my chest.

Marriage…

It’s the second time Doug mentions the issue. He’s probably not dropping hints—it’s just that, like myself, Doug sometimes speaks his mind without thinking twice.

I gotta admit, the idea of getting married to Doug scares me and excites me at the same time. Mostly because, even though we’ve known each other for years, this is all still… new. _We’re_ a new thing, and I’m still learning how to deal with us.

I mean. Damn. We’ve been dating for less than a week—nobody can blame me for not thinking about marriage yet.

“Hey, don’t get me wrong…” He breaks the silence in a low voice, fidgeting with the fluffy of his coat. “It’s not like I want to get married just to get into your pants again or anything…”

He’s focusing on his hands and keeps quiet for a second, ears reddening.

“Alright. That is one big reason, but still!” He admits, making me blink in realization.

“That didn’t even cross my mind, you idiot.” I say, only now realizing how big of a reason that was. Judging by a few minutes ago, it will be difficult to keep our hands out of each other now that we already had a little taste—literally, in Doug’s case. My face burns a little at the memory.

“Tsk...” He sighs, pouting afterwards as he stares to his feet. “So that’s it? No fun until you decide you want to marry me?”

The way he said that last thing… Not only does it sounds as if he’s pressuring me, but also…

“Oh come on…” I start, clenching my fists without noticing, “You’re saying it’s only fun when we’re with our pants down?” I try to force a grin to hide how that hurt a little.

Of course it doesn’t work—I forgot I can’t smile at cue. He looks taken aback by my face, and I wonder how the hell my forced smile came across.

“Wow, my bad, that’s not what I meant!” Doug says, cupping my face with a guilty expression. Despite my size, his touch makes me small and vulnerable. “It’s just that—urk. I’m sorry. I know you said before you _do_ want to marry me too but…”

He lets go of my face, grabbing my hands now. He looks pensive for a change, his eyes swimming at our interlaced fingers as he bites his lips.

“I mean. It sounds like you’re still thinking about it while I, I…” He swallows, nervously fiddling his fingers against mine. “I wanted this for _so long_ , Dylas.”

“And I don’t mean just sex, I mean. I don’t even know. I just want to be with you, y’know? I’m sorry I keep bringing this up, it’s just that I can’t hide no more. I can’t live pretending, I’m not that dwarf anymore!” He says, forgetting to breathe between words.

His chest is running up and down as he breathes heavily, his hands tight around mine.

“To be honest, my wish is to just climb a rooftop and scream my feelings out to you and the whole world. But I don’t want to risk and hear a hard ‘no’, or even force a ‘yes’ that you’re not ready to say yet…”

He stops and laugh a little, briefly bringing his eyes up to meet mine, bright and silver.

“Also, that kind of proposal would embarrass the fuck out of you...” He snorts a little, and I’d smile along if I wasn’t feeling so stunned.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is… I’m sorry for being so impatient.” He traces his shaking fingers at the back of my hand. “Of course I want to touch you again, and I want to spend the rest of my days by your side. But… I’ll wait until you feel the same way. And when you do… Well…”

…

“I’ll be waiting for you.” He murmurs, his cheeks pink as he suddenly jumps out of the counter. “I have to—huh, night!”

He waves me goodnight and rushes upstairs leaving me here at the store alone, my knees so weak I could collapse with a simple breeze.

As I finally gather enough strength, I start walking towards home in a slow pace. The late night air is cold and sharp on my face, but I couldn’t care less.

I’m a little numb and my head is spinning.

Doug was right. I _am_ still thinking about everything.

Because apparently unlike him, I only noticed my true feelings a week ago. I didn’t have the time to go through every one of them, so the idea of marriage felt a bit obscure and scary.

But after hearing Doug’s words…

…

_“I want to be with you.”_

_“I want to touch you.”_

_“I want to spend the rest of my days by your side.”_

_…_

I stop as I step in front of the restaurant, swallowing at these thoughts.

It’s _this_ simple, huh?

…

I have some things to do.


	22. Ore

As I brush my teeth, I notice how quiet the place is today: no Porcoline chomping or dancing around, no Margaret’s morning singing downstairs, no Arthur’s—well, actually, Arthur is always quiet, unless he’s faced with a fluffy wooly or something.

I walk on the hallway, the carpet soft on my bare feet as I knock twice on Porco’s door. At the lack of response, I carefully open it, only to find his big bed untouched.

 _“Maybe he and Meg didn’t come back yet? Where did they go anyway?”_ Foam drips from my mouth to my hands. I return to the bathroom and finish brushing.

Back to my room, I dress myself wondering what should I do today. I made a hell of a big decision yesterday, but I’m not sure how to proceed…

Maybe Arthur can give me some advice?

Yeah. He knows about Doug and me already. Talking to him shouldn’t be difficult now.

He’s not in his room though. Did he stay up all night working again? I scowl him mentally, as I walk downstairs to his work place.

But he’s not here either. Weird… Maybe Lest invited him to a morning dungeon crawl?

Oh, there’s a note on his table. Well, there’s a lot of notes here now that I realize, but the biggest say _Dylas_ in Arthur’s pretty calligraphy. I take it and squint my eyes to read the small letters inside the note.

_“Dylas, Porcoline sent me a telegram saying he and Margaret went to the Elven Kingdom and will stay there for the week. You don’t have to open the restaurant in the meantime. As for myself, I will be out of town for a few days to meet some clients, one of them apparently has information about that flower of yours._

_Regards, Arthur D. Lawrence.”_

It’s so typical of Arthur to write a note as if it was a letter…

So that means I’m by myself for the week?

…

I’m not sure if I wanted to be alone right now.

…

 

As I fix myself breakfast, a bowl of nice crispy corn cereal, I try to make a list of the things I’ll need.

Some metal… Maybe a gem… Courage…

Urk, the last one will definitely be the hardest to find. But that’s okay, I’ll only need it later, for the big moment. First of all, let’s gather the ore.

After breakfast, that is.

–

 

Lest makes it look so simple, but in reality, breaking those rocks aren’t an easy task. I’m drenched in sweat and my arms are sore, way worse than yesterday.

Worst of all, after a whole morning of mining, I could only get iron. And lots of freaking scrap metal. I actually wanted to find gold or at least silver but…

Tsk. Maybe I should take these with me nonetheless. It will be useful for practice—it’s been a long time since I last crafted anything anyway.

I make my way back through Selphia Plans with this heavy bag on my back, kicking and punching those pesky monsters out of my field of view. Little orcs, woolies, big mushrooms… They all try to attack me, but I send them back to the Forest of Beginnings with one hit. It’s almost boring.

That’s when I hit something red that doesn’t go away, and I jump at the shout it gives.

“OUCH!!” It turns around, a hand around the spot where I hit. “What was that for??”

What on earth?? Oh.

It’s Doug. He gets up from the green grass, still clutching the back of his head with a huge frown on his face.

“Sorry, ‘thought you were a Chipsqueek or something!” I blabber, disconcerted by my own racing heartbeat. “What were you doing here, all crouched like that anyway?”

“Oh, this?” He says, calming down a little. “Granny needed some mushrooms for today’s lunch!” He explains, showing me a sack full of brown toadstools with a proud little smile.

“Though I’m not sure which ones are actually poisonous…” I hear him mutter under his breath. Wait, what?

“So, what about you?” He asks, closing his bag and staring at mine. “What you got back there?”

Oh. Quick. Think of something…

“It is, it is…” Urk. Think... “Some metal to strengthen my poles.”

I’m a good for nothing liar…

“Really? And you’re using scrap metal for that?” He says, peeking inside my bag.

Well, to this there’s no need to lie.

“Actually I couldn’t find the gold I needed. But that’s okay, I’ll try again another day.”

“Hm, is that so…” Doug says, holding his chin like he always does when thinking something through. He smiles a bit before placing his bag on his shoulders. “Well, okay! See you later?”

“Er, today’s not a good day. I have stuff to do.” I say, relieved to be saying a truth this time. He looks a bit disappointed, but smiles the next second.

“Oh. Fine, I’m working tomorrow. Come kill time with me, ‘kay?” He says, before stepping up on his tiptoes to land a kiss on my jaw—he’s so short, couldn’t even reach my cheek. I laugh inside and bend down to kiss his cheek, a warm blush spreading through my face at his shy smile.

He waves me goodbye before running away, a few mushrooms escaping through a gap on his bag—he should have probably closed it better…

I touch the spot he kissed, a stupid smile on my lips. It’s good we’re good even with this whole waiting thing…

Also, I can’t help but feel a little bad for lying to Doug like that, but he’ll definitely like it way more as a surprise.

I just can’t wait for the look on his face.


	23. Scrap Metal

Sometimes I wish crafting something was easy as selecting an option from a menu and just waiting as it finishes itself.

I’ve lost count of how many iron I turned into scrap metal with my failed attempts. One of the tries ended up too small, the other looks more like a bracelet. One melted completely while I was finishing it and the other turned out sharp like a blade—just putting it on could cut your skin. I found that the hard way.

Worse of all, this shit takes time: I wasted two whole afternoons with this little game. I’m not so sure Bado will keep being unusually generous like that for too long—he’s probably thinking about charging a fee for the rent of his forge or something.

But if anything, at least I learned what _not to do_ when using the real materials. Which, by the way, I searched for again this morning and still could not find any. At all.

I sigh in frustration…

Maybe I should just buy a ring?

A nice engagement ring can’t possibly be that expensive…

…

No. Nobody does that, not in my time and not nowadays. What a shitty lazy attitude…

Oh, a pull on the line!

With one strong swing, I reel in a big Crucian Carp, who flails desperately as I unhook it and throw it back at the water.

Ah… Night fishing is so relaxing. After two days of failure is nice to just sit and do something you’re good at.

A cool breeze comes from the lake, messing my bangs a bit as I bait another worm. The air smells nice, like grass and fresh water and it helps forgetting the headache pulsing in the back of my head.

“Well, there you are!”

A sharp voice followed by a puff comes from a little far behind me.

“What, did you forget we had a date today?”

Doug? Oh. Right, I was supposed to meet him. Every Thursday I go and hang out with him as he works on the store but today…

“Sorry, I—“

Was too busy making you a surprise engagement ring. Or at least trying to.

“Er, I was fishing and lost track of the time.” I lie, putting my fishing rod down and turning to face him as he walks closer to me.

“Fishing huh…” He says, staring at me with a straight face.

“It won’t happen again.”

“Huh, that’s okay. I’ll let it slide just this time.” He smiles a bit sitting by my side, and I sigh in relieve… The last thing I want is Doug mad at me again.

“So… I guess you finished working on your fishing rod?” He says, holding his chin, his skin pretty under the night light.

Wait, what?

Oh, I almost forgot my own lie…

“N-not really. I…” I swallow, staring at the lake. “It still needs some touches. Also, I couldn’t find any gold yet…”

“OH. That’s right, I totally forgot!” He shouts, fumbling through the pockets of his shorts. “I meant to give it to you sooner, but…”

He hands me a… Gold nugget? And a huge sized one, what the—

“I searched for it yesterday!” He scratches his head. “Well. To be honest, I couldn’t find any, so I asked for Lest’s help today…”

“Wow, t-thanks!” I can’t help but smile at the little blush on his face. That was all that I needed to... Oh. This reminds me.

“Hey. Can I, huh, see your hand?” I ask, carefully grabbing his wrist. He raises his eyebrow at me.

“What for?” He asks a bit confused, as mouth him a “nothing important” and hold his left hand carefully. Let me see…

I inspect his ring finger for a second—it’s so much thinner than my own, it looks as thick as my little finger. His palm also has some calluses I never noticed before, probably from sword handling, but the skin still feels so soft…

“Hey… Once you finish this fishing rod thing can we hang out again?” Doug says, sounding slightly peevish while I’m trying my best to memorize the mental picture of his hand.

“Sure, I’ll be busy tomorrow but I’ll have it finished by Saturday.” _Probably_. He smiles again at this, and intertwines our fingers together, humming contently.

I’m going to make him a killer engagement ring. Well, maybe not as fancy as the Platinum one Lest gave Margaret, but still…

“Cool, so… Do you want to meet after lunch on Saturday?” He suggests, caressing my hand with his thumb. “We can go to that scenic place you’re always talking about!”

I smile at the memory. More than once, I tried to suggest taking Doug to this beautiful place out of town, but I never had the guts to invite him at all. I found it while looking for new fishing spots, way far from town, maybe even close to Sharance. There’s this huge waterfall with a perpetual rainbow, and the autumn colors look so pretty on the leaves and… and…

…

It’s the perfect proposal place.

“It’s a date then.” I try to contain the crafty smile on my lips.

“Okay, let’s meet here on Saturday then! I need to get going, I, huh, kinda left the store alone!” He says, letting go of my hand with a crooked smile.

He’s just helpless, isn’t he?

“Night!” He kisses my cheek before getting up in a hurry and escaping away.

As I sit here alone and the cold breeze messes my hair again, I can’t help but smile at the mental picture of Doug’s face on Saturday…

What should I say? Should I get on my knees? Will he like the ring?

Well. First, I need to the ring itself.

But that’s okay, I have the whole day tomorrow. How hard can it be?


	24. Scrap Metal+

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [In RF4, scrap metal is what you get when you fuck up while forging. Sometimes, when you fuck up good, you get scrap metal+. That’s what Dylas gets this chapter.]

_"How hard can it be?”_

I bang my head on the dusty table at the memory of my own words. I was wrong. So, so wrong…

If making an iron ring was already difficult, a gold one is hell on Earth. I don’t even know why I thought it would be the same…

Before today, I didn’t know how physically exhausting forging could actually be. The heat constantly emanating from the forge makes me of dizzy—not to mention sweaty. My feet are stinging from standing the whole day, my back is aching like my head, and my fingertips are starting to… bleed? From all the handwork?... Nah, it’s just a little, no big deal.

_Okay, it hurts more than just a little._

But I can do it… I’m almost finishing this one anyway. Earlier I’ve already managed to finish my ring, and it looks a bit rough, but this one is turning out so much better. The one I’m giving Doug. It just need… A few touches.

“Welcome…” Bado’s deep voice come from the front of the store. “What can I get you today?”

A customer? That’s rare for this store.

“Nah, I just came to see Dylas.” A familiar voice answers. “He’s here, isn’t he?”

“Back there.” Bado says. “He’s been taking over my workbench a lot. If I’d known he’d be using it this much, I would’ve charged him 500G an hour…”

Then they laugh a little.

It’s Doug’s laugh.

Fuck...!

He shouldn’t be here. Fuck. Fuck. Can I hide somewhere? Oh no, he’s coming here already... Damn, my heart is beating at my throat.

“Hey!” Doug says, stepping closer to me, the forge’s light making his hair so much redder. He’s smiling a bit, but I just can’t fake one back—he _can’t_ be here, he’ll ruin everything.

“W-why you’re here?” I blabber, clenching my hands around the unfinished ring behind my back. The smile disappears from his face as I stand here, sweating cold like an idiot.

“Huh, I...” He starts, sounding a little disconcerted. “I wanted to know if you finished your things so maybe we coul-“

“No, I didn’t. You can go now.” I cut him off, maybe a bit too quick. At this, he takes a step back and blinks twice, a frown slowly forming on his traits as his eyes inspects the forging area behind me.

“Why you’re avoiding me, Dylas?” He asks, his words bitter and suspicious.

“Am not.” I gasp, only now realizing I’ve been holding my breath. ”I, I… W-what are _you_ doing here anyway? We didn’t agree to meet today!”

“What?” He shouts, indignant. “As if I have to set an appointment to see my boyfr—you?“ He corrects himself, reminding Bado’s presence back there at the counter.

“I mean. Fuck, Dylas. When we last had a nice time together? Four days ago??” He goes on, clenching his fists.

Ugh… This conversation is only adding to my headache… Why does he has to be so obnoxious at the most inappropriate times?

“ _Why_ don’t you want to be with me?” He whispers, his glare intense and a bit hurt against mine.

“Urk…”

I can’t tell you yet, you moron.

“L-leave me alone, okay?” I murmur, looking away.

Just wait until fucking tomorrow.

The only sound in the room is him swallowing followed by a heavy breathing. He keeps mute for a minute, making me more anxious every passing second…

“Is this what you want?” He says, quieter than before.

“Y-yeah, just get lost.” I answer, feeling a knot in my throat. I’m almost finishing this shit, Doug, why did you have to show up now?...

“Fine.” He murmurs, acidly, before dashing away right out the door.

Finally…

It takes some time until I can breathe normally again… My hands are still shaking though, and I almost drop the ring when I notice the blood dripping from my palms. How could this…?

Oh, it’s probably from those small cuts from before…

Fuck… My body’s so numb it doesn’t even hurt anymore.

“Hey, Dylas.” Bado’s voice suddenly breaks the silence after a while. “That was, huh, a bit different than your regular discussions.”

He casually steps closer as he keeps talking. “Not that’s of my concern, but are you two okay?”

…

_Are we?_

My throat tightens at his question, but before I can think any further, Bado stands next to me and stares at my bloody hands.

He keeps quiet for a minute before letting out a calm “Jones is going to love this...”


	25. Fatigue

If by love, Bado means “almost passing out by the mere sight”, then yeah, Jones loved seeing my bloody fingers. I have no idea how a doctor can be so afraid of blood (or anything even resembling it) like this…

Because of this, Dolce is the one in charge of healing my fingers.

“Open your hands like this.” She gestures, so I turn my palms up in front of her. I’m sitting on the clinic bed as she’s standing in front of me, inspecting my wounds with cold pink eyes.

I was worried of she asking me how and why I got injured, but to my relieve she doesn’t. I’m not sure if it’s out of respect or out of sheer disinterest, though.

“Hey!” An uncharacteristic high-pitched voice comes from Dolce. “Is this blood yours??”

What? What kind of question is even that…?

“Get. Off. My hat.” Dolce says deadly quiet, in a tone of annoyance she only uses with…

Her top hat shakes a little and suddenly Pico jumps out of it, making me jump in surprise too. To my discomfort, she floats in circles around me, staring at my hands with those green, pupilless eyes.

“I saw Doug storming out of Bado’s shop a little before you. Is that his blood?” She asks, a wicked smile or her semitransparent face.

“Of course not, you idiot.” Dolce cuts her off. “How would that happen anyway?”

Pico sits on Dolce hat, holding her chin. Dolce is quietly fumbling through her purse, my wounded hands long forgotten in front of them.

“Maybe…” Pico wonders, dangling her legs in front of Dolce’s face. “They end up fighting?”

Fighting?

Yeah… One could call that discussion we had a fight but—

“I’d never hurt Doug.”

Both of them look back at me with in surprise, and my face falls when I realize I said that out loud.

“Is that so?” Dolce says with a hint of a smile, still fumbling through her purse.

Shit, I’m turning red aren’t I??

“Why can’t you be like that too, milady??” Pico says, hugging Dolce’s whole face and shouting things about how romantic I am and stuff. Urk…

Suddenly, Pico gives a shriek and floats away in a blink. What the hell?

I look back to Dolce and she’s holding up a piece of paper with some inscriptions on it, with a fed up look on her face. “Not the amulet, Dolly!!” Pico cries, glued to the wall.

Dolce sighs, looking back at me with her usual calm and cold stare.

“Now that the nuisance is gone, I can cure you.” She says, slowly hovering her free hand over my wounds, a green glow emanating from her palm, a slight tingle bubbling inside.

In a matter of seconds, the bruises completely heal up in front of my eyes. I had forgotten about the existence of healing spells—it was damn impressive.

“T-thanks.” I blabber, looking at my hands—they’re still bloody, but aside that, they’re like new. I get up from the bed as Dolce makes way for me to pass.

Good thing I’ll get to finish that ring today.

“You shouldn’t work when fatigued.” She says as I make my way to the door, and I wonder if I said my thoughts aloud yet again. I stop and turn to stare at her and she stares back at me as if I’m an idiot.

“When you’re out of runes, your body starts taking the toll. And you are almost out of runes. You’ll end up passing out.”

Oh I see… That’s why I’m so tired?

…

But I’m almost finishing the ring.

“It will be fine.” I say, to which Dolce just frown in response, pocketing the amulet. Pico returns immediately, hovering around Dolce with a happy little smile.

“See you later!” Pico laughs, as I leave the clinic.

Tsk. As if.

—

 

…

See. Joke’s on you, Pico and Dolce.

I managed to finish the ring _without_ passing out.

I inspect it in my hands while walking back home. It looks a bit rough, but it’s cute and small, just like Doug (not that he’d like to admit). I pocket it in my pants again.

Sure, every bone of my body is aching now, and it’s even a little hard to breathe but still. I’m strong. A little forging won’t bring me down like that.

I step in and turn on the lights of the restaurant, and this place is something else without everyone around... It’s empty and bigger, and so quiet I can hear my footsteps.

…

It’s weird, I don’t like it.

But nevermind that. Porco and Meg will come back in a few days. For now, all I know is that I’m starving… I’ll make a little something before sleeping.

I drag myself to the kitchen, my legs complaining at each step.

Fuck. Maybe Dolce was right about the fatigue thing…

But that’s okay. I’ll just prepare something easy, like… Hm…

Milk porridge? Yeah, that’s the stuff.

I grab a gallon of milk inside the fridge, and…

Nnnng.

Were these lids always this hard to open??

Damn… Suddenly this gallon feels heavy as shit too.

Why… Everything is blurry?

Oh no.

…

—

 

“Told you he’d be back.”

I hear a high-pitched voice as I slowly come back to my senses.

“Why he’s smelling like this though…?”

Is that Dolce’s voice?

The fuck? What are they…

“Oh, hey, he woke up! Hello stinky!” Pico floats above me, making me gasp.

I look around and I’m not at the restaurant like a second ago. I’m yet again lying at this clinic bed.

“What happened?... What day is today?” I blabber, sitting up. My clothes are uncomfortably damp, what the hell…

“It’s still Friday! You worked to exhaustion and collapsed! We saved you and now you own us ten thousand gold!” Pico says, cheerfully floating around Dolce, who’s quietly knitting on a chair next to the bed.

Oh. I see…

Wait. WHAT?

“Stop lying.” Dolce looks up from her knitting. “Nancy was the one who rescued him, you know she doesn’t charge people like that.” Dolce says, curtly. Phew… My savings are saved.

“Even though he deserved to pay.” She adds, with a huge frown before returning her attention to the long scarf she’s knitting.

Damn… I’m really an idiot for not listening to her. But, what is even this smell?... Is it coming from me?

Is this sour… milk?

Oh. The milk gallon. Did I pass out after opening it? Dang it…

Talk about an embarrassing way of passing out. I thought these things only happened to Lest.

“How did Nancy even find me?” I ask, my face reddening at the fact she probably picked me up from the kitchen floor, drenched in sour milk.

“Nancy and Jones… They always know when someone’s in a pinch.” Dolce says, dexterous hands knitting nonstop. “It’s a mystery.”

Tsk… I don’t really care anymore.

I can’t physically stand this terrible day any longer… I just want to drag myself back home, then shower and bed.

Maybe tomorrow will be better.


	26. Anxiety

Urk… It sure is bright in here, did I oversleep again?

I roll in my bed, my eyes aching as I try to look at the clock. Yep. Eleven o’ clock already…

Time to get up.

I take a deep sigh… Reminding how much yesterday sucked.

I still can’t believe I was so fatigued to the point of passing out while cooking (does opening a bottle even count as cooking?) Fuck, I feel ridiculous. At least I’m rested today.

And to think I almost killed myself from so much work... But I did it. I finished the engagement rings in time— _without_ Doug finding out about it.

Doug…

_“Are you two okay?”_

Bado’s words suddenly come back to me, the memory of Doug’s worrying me. I had forgotten how upset he was when he left yesterday, even more than when we fought on the town bridge.

Damn…

But it’s not like it was _my_ fault, right? I was just trying to save the surprise. I didn’t do anything to hurt him, I’d never hurt him in any way… I reason with myself, my body numb as I finally get up from my bed.

Then I start to remember my own words as I slip off my robe and dress myself for the day.

…

_“Why are you here??”_

_“You can go now.”_

_“We didn’t agree to meet today!”_

_“Just leave me alone.”_

_“Get lost.”_

…

W-well… Out of context, these _do_ sound a little harsher than I intended and, and…

Fuck. Why do I have to be so rude?

I just hope he’s not too mad at me during today’s date. I mean, how am I supposed to propose to him like that? My heart beats faster at this, my fingers shaking as I finish buttoning my shirt.

How am I supposed to propose anyway?

My mind goes blank, and I fail twice at putting my leg in my pants—my last clean pair of pants. Yesterday’s milk accident cost me my best pants and worse of all, my jacket. I’ll need to do laundry later…

Also I should buy myself a new jacket. What kind of person owns just one?

Yeah Dylas. Occupy yourself with non-urgent problems, when you’re about to propose to your boyfriend. To Doug, the guy you wouldn’t admit liking a week ago. The one who’s just waiting for your fucking proposal, the one who you upset every damn time.

…

This isn’t helping. Ugh. Just finish putting on these shoes and go grab breakfast—or lunch, whatever.

—

 

We did agree to meet after lunch on Dragon Lake, right?

I’m pretty sure we did…

Where’s Doug then? I’ve been waiting for a while already—at least two hours, judging by the sun. I’ve went from walking in circles to standing casually against the rocks to lying in despair on the grass. A few tourists passed by and stared at me weirded out, but I couldn’t care less.

The only thing calming me down (a little) is remembering that Doug kept me waiting on our first date too. The airship one, when he got me that weird flower.

Was I this anxious back then too? I don’t recall… Today though, I’m a nervous wreck. I can’t even rehearse the proposal in my mind.

I fidget with the rings inside my pants’ pocket, trying to distract myself. Of course it doesn’t help.

Man, where’s he? The minutes pass like ages… If only I had my fishing rod with me, I could pass the time quicker. I left it at home because I don’t want to be fish stinking on our date.

Though…

Doug said he likes it.

My cheeks turn hot at the thought.

Damn. I miss him… He should be here by now, I know he doesn’t work today. Where could he be? He couldn’t possibly have went to the scenic place by his own, he doesn’t even know where it is. We’re supposed to go together—and then I propose the brains out of him. _That’s_ the plan.

Except he isn’t here.

Maybe something happened to him?

Maybe he forgot about it?

Maybe he’s still mad at me for yesterday?

…

My throat tightens at that last thought.

Should I go look out for him? Then again, what if he shows up right after I leave? He’ll think I’m late and I’ll just upset him all over again.

I better just keep waiting here. Stop overthinking it.

He might arrive any second now.

Right?

…

—

 

Okay. This is getting fucking ridiculous.

I’m going home... I waited long enough.

The knot on my throat is huge and I can’t stop clenching my fists. The wind hits my face cold and sharp as I walk back home, not so sure of what to think anymore.

I pass by the clinic, and just to make sure I peek inside through the window. Nope, nobody is here besides Dolce, knitting a six foot long scarf with Pico sleeping on her lap. I guess they’re much more tender when alone.

Tsk… So Doug didn’t get injured or anything like that. Which is good. I was a little worried.

But then, what’s his excuse?

What a miserable night… I walk through the town square, staring at the white stone floor, kicking a pebble here and there.

I kicked that last one too hard—it hits that weird clothed-mail-box-thingy in front of Lest’s house. Luckily I didn’t scratch it or anything, Lest’s so attached to that thing… He goes as far as talking with it, he even named it—it’s Elisa or something like that. Crazy Lest.

I take a deep breath before stepping out of the town square.

Doug’s house is just a little ahead, but part of me wishes he isn’t home—like, something must have happened for him not to show up, right? Part of me doesn’t want to believe he stood me up the whole day on purpose, I mean, come on. Doug’s not like that, is he?

…

The light coming out from Doug’s room window proves me wrong.

Fuck…


	27. Night walk

Yep. That’s it. Doug either stood me up on purpose or forgot about me at all.

I don’t know which is worse.

My heart is beating on my throat, as I stand in front of his house, unsure of what to do.

Is it too childish of me to be _this_ pissed off at him? I mean. Fuck. I waited the whole freaking day, doing nothing but worrying—and napping on the grass at some point, but still…

What kind of boyfriend keeps the other waiting like that?

…

Oh. That’s right. Me.

I did that to him too, on Thursday... I was so focused on forging those rings I completely forgot about meeting him.

Still, he forgave me in the end.

…

…could Doug (ironically) be the bigger person between us?

No, absolutely not, he’d come to the date if so.

Damn. I don’t want to talk with him right now, I’m still kind of upset.

What should I do…?

“Dylas?” A familiar frail voice wakes me from my trance. I look down and Blossom is standing on the store’s door in front of me, a little concern showing on her face.

“You’ve been standing here for a while now. Do you need something?”

Oh. It didn’t even cross my mind how I could be easily spotted from behind the shop’s window…

“N-not really.” I blabber, turning around to hit home already. “Thanks, anyway.”

Yep, that settles it. Home now, Doug tomorrow.

“Wait, Dylas.” Blossom says before I can sprint off. I turn around to face her and the concern is back at her eyes. At my silence, she continues.

“Could you do me a favor?” Her voice fades mid-sentence and I need to lean down closer to hear the rest. “Doug spent the whole day glooming on his room… Do you mind taking him for a walk or something? I think he needs a little fresh air and good company.”

The way she phrased it makes it sounds as if we’re talking about a dog again, and I almost laugh at the thought. But then her request hits me.

Walk with Doug?

Now?

Before I can say anything, she chuckles a bit.

“I’m glad I have you to help me with Doug now.” She smiles at me. “The boy’s always pretending to be so strong, but he doesn’t fool me. He never tells me anything, he’s so fixated on me not worrying about him…”

She sighs. “But this only makes me more worried! I know there’s something troubling him today. He barely touched his food.”

I swallow nervously.

“Can you go and cheer him up?” She asks, a warm smile on her wrinkled face.

…

Her own words come back to me.

_“Will you take care of Doug?”_

…

“S-sure.” I answer feebly. If only she knew I’m probably the reason of Doug’s distress.

“Good, good! Go take him for a stroll around town!” She nods, walking inside the store and holding the door for me.

Everything feels like a blur as I make my way to Doug’s room upstairs. My mind is blank, and before I realize, I’m standing right in front of him, holding my breath.

He’s sitting on his desk with his usual clothes, a frown on his face as he closes his diary. His stare is piercing me and I almost forget for a minute that I’m the one who should be mad, not him.

…

_What do you want?_

_What are you doing here?_

_Aren’t you going to say anything?_

Is what he looks like asking, but he keeps quiet instead, puffy eyes glaring at me. Gee, what’s wrong with you, shrimp?

“Did you…” I break the silence, clenching my arms “forget we were meeting today…?”

He stares down, expression unchanged, slowly shaking his head.

_Damn, I knew it._

It’s harder to breathe with this knot on my throat…

“Tsk… Why?” I ask, my voice strained. “I waited for you.”

His frown grows bigger (I didn’t know that was even possible), and no answer comes from him. Shit, how am I supposed to actually forgive him when he’s acting like this??

The only sound in the cold room is from my own heavy breathing. Is that it? You’re not talking to me at all, you shrimp?

“…”

I can’t believe him.

I would be heading home already if it wasn’t for Blossom’s favor... But, does he even want to be around me at all?

“Hey,” I start, looking at his unkempt bed, “Let’s take a walk.”

He then stares back at me, a hint of confusion on his (apparently perpetual) frown.

“Blossom’s orders.” I take a sigh. It’s not like we have that much of a choice here…

He looks pensive for a minute before turning around to put on his shoes. We walk downstairs without exchanging another word, passing by a smiling Blossom on our way out. At least someone is happy around here…

We start to walk by the streets of Selphia, side by side and in complete silence. I try not to focus on how annoying his silent treatment is by focusing on the buildings around us. We pass by the castle—it’s weird that people build that magnificent palace just for Venti. I mean, yeah, she’s the divine dragon and whatever, but…

It’s just Venti. A goofy, pancake lover giant dragon.

…

Hm. What else?

The canal. One great new thing about this town is how they’ve build all these canals around the village. You can fish a bunch of small fishes here—Leon sure realized this too, he’s always sitting on that one spot over there, close to Bado’s shop. The same place he almost drowned me once, in a stupid prank. Tsk…

The sounds of water and crickets are kind of relaxing, and it almost makes me forget this ball of grumpiness walking a little behind me, his footsteps fast on the crunchy leaves.

That’s when I notice, for every step I take, Doug needs to walk two—maybe I should walk slower...?

Nah, he totally can keep up with me. Plus, I’m still kind of mad with him, so that’s it.

We walk through the steps that lead up to the upper part of the town, and a few tourists are flocking the Inn’s entrance. It’s probably Lin Fa’s night shift today… Just a bunch of losers trying to catch a married woman’s attention.

We dodge past the crowd, and I can’t help but wonder what Doug’s thinking about. He looks like he’s been staring at his feet the whole walk, the same pout and frown glued on his face. Damn, I can’t give him back to Blossom like this. I promised to cheer him up.

When we pass by the restaurant, my grumbling stomach reminds me I haven’t eaten in, what? Eight hours? Yeah…

Blossom’s words suddenly ring on my ears.

_“Doug barely touched his food today.”_

…

“Hey.” I start, and he looks back at me with dull eyes.

“Wanna…” I clear my throat, stopping in front of the restaurant, “Eat something?”

Doug then blinks and stares at the restaurant door, he taps his fingers on his tight for a minute before finally nodding—still in silence.

Tsk…

Food sure is the way to this dwarf’s heart.


	28. Apology

We make our way through the empty restaurant to the kitchen, and I turn on the lights thinking about what I will cook us. Cooking always distracts me when I’m distressed, so this should help too.

I know for a fact we’re out of milk, so no milk porridge for me and Doug. Hm… There aren’t any veggies either… For a restaurant, we don’t have many ingredients lying around. Maybe Porco ate everything when I wasn’t working? Tsk.

“Well. There’s bread…” I say, looking at the loaf forgotten inside the fridge, and I swear I can _hear_ Doug’s face twisting in disgust—what’s with this dwarf and bread anyway? I’ll never understand.

“I’ll make us some rice, is that better?” I ask, closing the fridge and looking at him. I catch a glimpse of smile on Doug’s face before he goes back to his usual frowning.

Hmph, he’s trying too hard to look angry... Maybe is to make me feel bad? Well, it’s not working anymore. I’m growing used to “silent Doug”, so joke’s on you, shrimp.

Hm… There are some big bamboo sprouts here. Maybe I can wing a nice dish of bamboo rice?

“Hey,” I say to Doug, who’s sitting on the counter already, “wash two cups of rice.” I say, pointing to the rice sack next to him. “Better, make it three.”

His face reads “whaaat, I have to help?” all over it, and I just nod at him. If he washes the rice for me, I can peel off and cook these bamboo sprouts in the meantime.

After all, four hands work faster than two, right?

—

 

Will I ever make a right assumption?

I don’t know how, but Doug managed to end up with just one cup of rice after washing it. Did it all went down the drain? Is that why the sink’s clogging up a bit? Can rice clog pipes?? Also, I’m pretty sure he didn’t wash it thoroughly, since there was this weird foam once I poured the water on the pot.

In the end, I had to do it myself, after peeling and cutting the bamboo’s sprout. I dare to imagine what would have happened if I ever put a knife on this dwarf’s hands.

As I wait for both the rice and the bamboo to finish cooking up, I put Doug to clean the mess he made. There’s rice even on the floor, so he’s lazily sweeping it, a look of failure on his face.

Tsk... So useless.

“You were right.” I say without thinking, “I’m _definitely_ doing all the cooking once we…”

_Marry?_

Oh. I swallow, my cheeks hot… Even though I didn’t finished my sentence, Doug’s face is glowing red too before he goes back to sweeping, maybe a bit too fast.

“Hey, stop that!” I say. He’s more like forming a cloud of dust around us rather than cleaning anything… Gee.

My heart beats faster from this whole marriage thing, and I tap the rings over my pocket. Should I still propose him today? I had completely forgot about it. Maybe today’s not a good day after all…

Doug looks like he has a lot on his mind as he puts the broom aside and sits in the counter by my side, fidgeting with a bamboo sprout skin—I thought I told him to throw that out.

He takes a deep breath and it looks like he’s about to say something, but gives up midway, tossing the bamboo skin to the garbage can.

He misses it, cursing in silence at this.

Yeah… This is going to be a quiet dinner.

—

 

Okay, I change my mind. Silent Doug is boring and it makes me even more uneasy than I already was.

Never again I want to go through a whole dinner with only the sounds of cutlery against plates… Clanking it, scraping it… Urk. It’s just unnerving.

I’d have lost my appetite, if I wasn’t so hungry. Despite Doug’s “help”, the bamboo rice turned out surprisingly good, he even helped himself to a second portion.

We’re washing the dishes now, and by _we_ I mean Doug alone. It’s only fair, right? I cook, he cleans. He’s biting his lips as he scrubs those plates and pots, and by the time he’s done, his frown is even more intense than in the beginning of the night.

…

“Okay, that does it.” I snap. “ _When_ will you stop being mad at me?” I’m mad at him too, but at least I’m not being an asshole. I mean, I made him good food! He should love me again by now.

Doug remains quiet as he wipes his hands at his shorts, staring to the floor.

“Can you at least tell me _why_ you’re mad?” I’m not sure if you know, dwarf, but I’m not a mind reader.

His lack of response only adds to my frustration. My throat is pulsing with rage.

“I _want_ to forgive you for today, shrimp. But I _can’t,_ unless you apologize to me!”

At this, he widens his eyes, clenching his fists.

“You want _me_ to apologize?” He finally breaks his silence vow, his voice cringing. “Seriously?? Because, as far as I know, I’m only doing what you told me to!”

I stare at him in confusion and he looks back at me as if I was an idiot.

“Get lost.” He pronounces slowly, his eyes angry, “Just leave me alone. You can go now!”

I’m taken aback for a minute before I finally process it: he’s repeating my words from yesterday.

…

“That’s dumb, Doug. You know that’s not what I meant with that…” I say, rubbing my eyes, only to hear him puffing.

“Sure, because every boyfriend ignores the other for four days straight and then say things like that.” His voice is filled with grudge as he puts back his leather gauntlets. “That’s just normal, right?”

“I—“ _had my reasons_ … But the words don’t leave my mouth. I can’t tell him about the rings yet, not after everything…

He breathes loud enough for me to hear, looking to the floor.

“I almost thought you had given up on us… I thought I scared you away with all my talking about marriage and stuff…” He murmurs, clenching his arms, and I feel like holding him.

“But _then_ you came to see me, and I realized you were just being an asshole. A huge one.”

Okay, the urge to hug him is gone.

“That’s when I decided I wouldn’t talk to you _until_ you apologized for yesterday, for treating me like shit.” He stomps his feet.

“A-and NOW, you expect ME to apologize? You gotta to be kidding me!” He laughs, spitting at once all the words he’s been saving.

“You want an apology? Fine!” I grumble, taking a deep breath, “I’m sorry for the past four days, I didn’t mean to hurt you—again!”

The words came out a bit harsh and maybe insincere, so I try again.

“I mean… I really didn’t realize how terrible I made you feel. I-I’m a giant idiot. A stupid asshole. Can you…

“Can you forgive me?”

Doug just inspects me for a minute, a serious look on his face.

“You mean it?” He asks, and I nod in response. He stays quiet for a good while before nodding back.

Well, was that it? Apology accepted?

“Hm… This wasn’t nearly as satisfying as I imagined…” He says, a disappointed look on his face. “Can you, I don’t know, get down on your knees a bit or something?”

“Not on your life.” I blush, my pride getting hurt just from imagining it. He laughs at this, a true laugh this time.

“What a shame…” He stops laughing, wiping the tears from his eyes. “I was _really_ looking forward to see you on all fours.” He says in a weird tone, and for a second I take it just as another horse joke until I meet the look on his face. He’s blushing and looking at everywhere but me, and then realization hits me. Hard.

In the blink of an eye, heat spreads from my chest up to my ears, and I’m not sure of what to do with this new information.

_Doug wants to…_

_…_

Damn, breathe Dylas.

“A-anyway,” He clears his throat, his face still pink, “We’re cool now, right? I gotta go!”

But before he escapes away as usual, he wraps his arms around my neck pushing me down, his lips meeting mine. I’m so weak on my knees I could collapse if he kissed me any longer.

“See you tomorrow?” He smiles at me breaking the kiss, and I only manage to nod weakly. “Okay! Meet you here after lunch!” He says, before unwrapping his arms from me, escaping home.

I stand in my place, staring at the place Doug was and blushing like a fool.

…

Fuck, Doug… The things you say.


	29. Laundry

It’s a good thing today is sunny for an autumn morning—my clothes will dry in no time. They’re all hanging on the clothes line right here on Porco’s backyard, all of them but my vest. I’m still trying to get rid of this huge brown stain…

What’s even this anyway?

 I try to remember, my arms aching from all the rubbing.

Oh… It’s soy sauce, right? From that date with Doug, when I leaned over the table to kiss him before, before…

…

My face burns with the memories of that night. It was the first time I’ve ever been touched like that, and even though it was a week ago, it still makes me blush like no tomorrow.

Doug’s small hands, his smooth skin, his wet, warm tongue…

Damn. I miss him _so_ much.

Biting my lips, I brush more soap on the vest, trying to think about something else.

…

_“I was looking forward to see you on all fours.”_

Oh, fuck.

Don’t think about Doug’s words now, I had such a hard time trying to forget about them last night. I scrub the vest harder against the washboard, to distract myself from this heat.

I rinse it but the stain still there.

Urk. This isn’t working. None of this is working—my face and other parts are still hot.

Damn, dwarf, how can you say stuff like this? Have you got no shame??

I give up on the stain, my mind in override as I squeeze the water out of the cloth.

Did he mean what I think he meant? Me on all fours…?

ME?

Fuck, Doug. Are you serious?

I somehow always thought that he would be the one to, er—I mean, I thought I would…

Nng, I can’t even bring myself to think it!

…Okay, breathe.

This means once we get married, Doug will probably want to…

…

F-fuck me.

…

…………..

Why is this exciting me??

Damn...

I put the vest on the bucket aside and my head under the running faucet, cold water drenching my hair and face. Terribly Ice cold water.

!!

Ah, just what I needed… I’m a little better already.

That’s when a pig-like snort comes from the kitchen’s back door. Doug? I take my wet bangs out of my face and yep, it’s him. Stepping closer to me, with his hands on his pockets.

“What you doing?” He asks, smiling and looking at me up and down like I’m insane. Damn, I must be so dumb looking, all wet like this. “Bathing out here now?”

“I was, huh, doing laundry.” I answer lamely, squeezing the water of my hair. “What about you?”

“Oh, right.” He says, leaning against the wall. “I was searching you all over town. I didn’t even know you guys have a backyard here.” He laughs, tapping his feet on the grass. Duh, where did he think we washed our clothes anyway?

“Anyway,“ he goes on, “Granny’s made risotto today! She said there’s too much of it though, so she wanted me to invite you for lunch.”

Really? That’s nice of her.

“I mean, I’ve told her I could easily eat the spare food, but she scolded me and sent me to get you.” He scratches his chin, laughing. “You’re coming, right?”

“Huh, s-sure.” I say, picking up the vest from the bucket. “Just let me hang this...”

A sudden breeze makes me realize my hair drenched my shirt.

“…and change into something dry.”

“Aw, do you have to?” He moans, with big eyes. What does he mean?

I finish hanging the vest and I turn around to see Doug’s standing closer, biting his lips and staring at… my chest?

“You look _hot_ in a wet shirt.” He laughs, a shameless blush on his face.

…

“W-what…?” I blabber, my cheeks flaming. I hold my breath as he steps closer, placing his hands on my waist and teasingly caressing the wet fabric against my skin.

Then, he stops and blinks twice before stepping away awkwardly.

“Er, we better get going.” He swallows, walking towards the kitchen door. ”Granny’s waiting for lunch…”

Oh, right… I almost forgot about that—that and breathing.

“R-right, I’ll just change quickly.” I say, and he follows me inside, a little nervous and flustered.

“By the way Dylas,” He starts quietly as we walk upstairs, “I’m sorry if, huh…

“If I weirded you out yesterday.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know. With the whole ‘you on all fours’ thing.”

Oh…

…

“D-don’t worry about it. I…” I start, hiding my face even though he can’t see it. “I…

“…Liked the idea…”

And I can’t turn around to look at him, but I’m pretty sure he’s as red as me.

—

 

“Just for the record,” Doug states, as we pile the dirty dishes on the sink. “I might not let you come back to lunch here. Ever again.”

“And why’s that?” I ask, separating the plates from the cutlery. “Just cause I volunteered us to do the dishes?”

“Yep. That and of course, the whole thing you and Blossom have already.” He murmurs, pouting as I roll up my sleeves. What? Blossom and me? Today’s lunch proved to be a bonding time for both of us, but—

I can’t believe it.

“You jealous?” I ask him with a smirk, and he gasps, his face flaming.

“N-n-no, that’s not it!” He blabbers, taking off his gauntlets. “It’s just that, ugh, it’s like you two joined forces against me…”

Oh, right. That may be true. Blossom got impressed to find out I was washing my own clothes, and also that I could cook and clean properly—she said I could teach Doug a thing or two. We spent the rest of the meal sharing stories about Doug, like how he couldn’t even wash rice yesterday or when he made me a sweet onigiri.

She told me about how once, on Valentine’s day, Doug tried to make carrot cookies (“probably for you”, she added), but accidentally burnt the whole tray. In the end, he had to eat all the bad cookies himself and ended up with a tummy ache.

Doug just groaned the whole time, his face red as his hair.

It was a fun meal.

“I’m sorry,” I snicker, sinking the cutlery in the hot water, “We didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

“Yeah, right.” He says, a little pout remaining on his lips as he helps me with the dishes, “Still, I’m glad Granny likes you. That’s not new, though—ever since that week you worked here, she keeps saying what a nice guy you are…”

He then keeps quiet for a few seconds before laughing.

“Shows how little she knows you!” He adds, snorting a little.

“You little shit.” I laugh too, splashing a little water on him. I grab down his arm when he cups a bunch of water—“Hey, hey! Let’s not make a mess here, okay? Also, this is my last clean shirt, please don’t soak it.”

“Alright, alright.” He says, returning his attention to the plates. “Hey, what you want to do after we finish this?”

Hm. Nice question…

“Do you still want to take me to that scenic place?” He asks, before I can suggest anything and—

Oh… Right.

“Yeah, sure. We could go there. Why not?” I panic, remembering I don’t have the rings on me.

“I-I’ll just get something in my place and then I’ll be back here. Just a sec!”

“W-wait wha—

Then I escape home in a blink. I fumble through my drawers and finally find the rings, right where I left them yesterday.

When I notice my wet hands though, I realize I just left Doug with all the dirty dishes for him to wash by himself.

…

Yeah… I better hurry back or he’ll be pissed at me.


	30. Waterfall

“Alright, where to?” Doug says as we walk outside the town’s gateway, excitedly unsheathing his sword.

“You didn’t need to bring a weapon...” I say, walking ahead of him and punching an orc who charged at me. It poofs back to the Forest of the Beginnings. “See?”

“Are you challenging me?” He says, slicing an orc who’ve been throwing daggers at us. What? A challenge?

“No, no. Let’s just get going, it’s a long walk till the waterfall.” I say dismissively, stepping ahead. He then laughs and sheathes his sword.

“I knew you’d chicken out. Your fists aren’t a match for my blade anyway.”

!

“I can take down more enemies with my bare hands than you with your tiny knife.”

“It’s a shortsword, and you know it!!” He retorts, both of us glaring at each other for a minute. Then he stops and smirks, unsheathing his sword again. “Wanna bet?”

“The one who defeats more monsters on the way, wins.”

…

“It’s on.” I say, crackling my knuckles.

—

 

“S-so,” Doug pants, bent on his knees, “That was fun right?”

“NO, it wasn’t—why did you have to provoke that schmooly for??” I gasp, my legs hurt from so much running. “It clearly outlevels us…”

“I thought it was a wooly!!” He says, standing up straight again, “And what about you, destroying a whole treasure chest with everything inside??”

“Ugh, better than almost being gobbled by that gobbler box. Like a certain gullible dwarf I know!”

“Tsk… They're identical to a chest, okay?” He says, still following me. “Hey, who won the bet anyway?”

“I-I don’t know, I’ve lost count halfway…” I pant, rubbing my hands on each other—they’re a little sore from all the beating, but Doug doesn’t need to know this.

“Hah, same!” He laughs, sprinting to my side. Then he elbows my sides—right where a palm cat head-butted me, UGH.

“This was just like the old days, huh?”

“Y-yea…” I say, hiding the discomfort. “We’re almost there, by the way.”

“Oh, finally.” He says, in relief. Then he changes his expression once he notice my smirk. “Er, I mean. I still could defeat a hundred monsters more, just so you know.”

“Sure.” I roll my eyes at him, to which he shoves me lightly. “Stop it!” I laugh, stopping when I start to recognize the foliage around us. Those orange leaves…

 “We’re here Doug!” I say, pointing towards the way that leads to the falls.

“Alright! Let’s see this famous scenery!”

He dashes ahead of me and I need to run to keep up with him—how did he recover his stamina already?

We stop in front of the lake, that huge waterfall a little in front of us.

And it is…

…

 

“Wow…” Doug says, holding his chin as we stare at it together. “It is…”

…

 

“Underwhelming.” He concludes, his lips twisted in a frown.

“I-I know right? It’s not as I remember…” I scratch my neck, staring at the place—not looking like the ideal proposal place anymore. It’s not as beautiful as I had in my mind. It’s just like that waterfall back in Yokmir Forest, except bigger… Also the orange leaves look almost grey under this clouded sky.

Wait, that’s it.

“I got it...” I say, as Doug plays with a pebble he caught off the ground, “It’s because it’s cloudy as crap in here.”

“So, a few clouds can make that much of a difference?” Says an uninterested Doug, throwing the pebble at the river and sitting at the yellow grass.

“Yeah… usually there’s a huge rainbow on the end of the falls, but not today.” How darn lucky are we…?

I sit by his side and we keep quiet for a second, the sounds of water thundering at the background.

“Well, this is boring. Next date, I’m picking the place.” Sighs Doug, lying down with arms crossed under his head.

“It’s not boring when you’re fishing.” There’s a lot of exotic fishes here, it’s pretty interesting.

Doug then frowns and I amend before he says anything, “I’m _not_ saying you’re more boring than fishing.”

His frown doesn’t go away though, and he keeps silent for a while before murmuring “Yet, you ditched me three days for a fishing pole…”

No, no, no, no…

Why you bringing that up?

…

“You’re a liar.” I say, feeling the start of a migraine on my head.

When he makes a confused noise, I continue, “You said you forgave me for this, and yet…”

You’re rubbing it in my face again.

“Tsk, sorry, it’s just hard to swallow you know?” He says, not looking at me at all, “Having to compete with _fishing_ to be your number one passion...”

…

That does it.

“Alright,” I hiss, pocketing my hand, and clenching it into a fist “You want to know what I was up to these three days? What I was really doing?”

I lied to you, Doug. I wasn’t strengthening my fishing rods.

He props himself on his elbows and raises an eyebrow at me, and I feel like my heart is going to burst through my chest as I take my fist off my pocket, opening it right in front of his eyes.

There it is, two freaking gold rings.

He stares at the rings with shocked eyes, his jaw slightly dropping.

“ _This_ is what I was doing,” my whole body is on fire, and my hands are shaking in front of him, “I forged and failed for three days straight, and even avoided you trying to keep it a surprise but, but…”

I clench my fist around the rings, Doug keeps staring at my hand as if he’s frozen in place.

“I’m fucking tired of keeping it a secret, shrimp.” My voice is faltering, so I take a deep breath. “You see, I like fishing. I’m sorry if it bothers you, I’ll never stop liking it. But…”

I stop to tilt his face so he looks at me. His lips are trembling, his face pink and eyes so bright.

“T-try to put in that tiny head of yours, it’s _you_ that I love!” My throat is hot, breathing never felt so hard. “I know now what I want and… er, it was y-you, who changed m-me and, and…”

Hell, I suck at romantic speeches, don’t I?

Forget it.

Opening my hand in front of him again and shutting my eyes, I just shout it, my face burning.

“Will you just marry me already??”

After five eternal seconds of holding my breath, a tackle suddenly takes me down to the grass, and I open my dizzy eyes to Doug on top of me hugging me tight.

The words leaving his mouth nonstop make my heart swell with happiness, so I just hug him back, the rings I spent so much time forging long forgotten on the grass as he keeps repeating “yes” in my arms, both of us actually tearing up a little…

So, just like that, during a terribly cloudy afternoon, at a very mediocre place and after yet another silly discussion, Doug and I finally got engaged… And even though his mouth tastes salty from the tears, we’ve never kissed so sweetly before.


	31. Past

Doug. Six years ago, I would rather die than admitting liking him.

Now, we’re lying on the cold grass, hands on each other’s hair, warm lips connected in a wet and desperate kiss.

Doug… He said yes.

We’re fucking engaged.

…

The thought makes me fuzzy inside. Or maybe it’s the way he’s breathing in my mouth, his chest pounding hard against mine.

We break apart for air, and damn, I’ve never seen Doug panting so happy. His face all flushed and eyes still watery, gazing at me so fucking tenderly, holding my face in his hands. I forget to breathe for a second.

“I really love you, did you know?” He murmurs against my forehead, intertwining his fingers on my hair again. My face burns a little more…

“Iloveyoutoo.” I answer, my voice a hurriedly half-whisper. He laughs at my awkwardness and places a kiss on my cheek. My legs are starting to go numb from his weight but I couldn’t care less, I just hug him closer, silently enjoying his warmth, his smell.

“So…” He says, his voice muffled in my neck, careless fingers playing with my hair… “What now?”

What now?

…

What now.

I didn’t stop to think what would follow the big yes. Usually in books, everything just fast forward to the wedding and to the happily ever after. But here, now…

“I mean…” He clears his throat, and stares at me again, “Can two men even, legally…?”

He laughs shortly, sounding a bit anxious though.

Get married?

How could I forget about this tiny detail?

My chest is tight and we keep silent for a moment. Doug’s biting his lips at my loss for words.

“Er, look,” I start, clenching my hands around his waist, “I don’t know of any… But we can ask Venti?” She’s the one who bless all unions in Selphia after all.

“Wha?? No, the dragon will tell the whole town!” He shouts, letting go of my hair and rolling over me, lying by my side now.

“Yeah, for sure.” I say, rubbing my eyes. Venti can’t hold her tongue when she’s excited about something. “But what? Do you want to keep it a secret forever?”

How does he expect to hide about us if we’re getting married? I look back at him, waiting, as he fidgets with the rings he caught from the grass, a pensive look on his face.

“You’re probably right.” He murmurs after a while, frowning his red eyebrows, “Ugh… I hate when you’re right!”

“Same here.” I smile teasingly, to which he softly smiles back.

He then returns his gaze at the rings, carefully inspecting them on his hands.

“You’re good at this.” He says, running his thumbs through the shiny metal. Little does he know how long it took me to craft these…

“I could never forge something this nice…” He adds, with that half smile I’ve come to learn it means he’s slightly sad.

Despite my expectations, Doug isn’t good at forging like most dwarves. He sucks at _many_ things, like cooking, reading big books or eating with his mouth shut, but he only sounds self-conscious about his forging skills. Not sure why.

“Maybe…” He sighs, closing his hands around the rings. “If my dad survived, he could’ve taught me. He was a great blacksmith, you know? The best of our clan.”

I worriedly stare at him, but to my surprise, he’s smiling calmly. He looks a bit lost in thought so I just wait for him to go on.

“On that day,” He rests his hand on his chest, “The day the Sechs invaded my village, I only escaped because I was out of town. They burned everything…”

“And everyone.”

He presses his lips together, closing his eyes… My stomach is ill, those sick bastards.

“The clothes on my body were literally all I had left from my family.”

He fidgets with the fluffy of his jacket, gazing at nothing.

Wait, could it be?...

“I know it doesn’t fit so well anymore but I still like it.” He says with a half-smile.

…

“I was gathering ore that day. Dad told me he was going to teach me how to forge. For when I found someone more important to me than anyone, he said.”

“Someone important…” He repeats quietly, lost in thought.

My heart is drumming at his words.

“Y’know what I just noticed?” He holds my hand, cold thin fingers closing on mine.

“If it wasn’t for all the shit I’ve went through, if I wasn’t a spy of the Empire here on Selphia, I’ve might have never met said someone.” He says, turning to face me with a shy smile. “Life is weird as fuck.” He concludes, _poetically_.

“Heck, I mean.” He goes on before I can say anything, “You weren’t even _born_ this century, and yet we’re here, holding hands like, like…”

He blushes and let go of my hands.

“UGH, I’m blabbering.” He shakes his head in shame, rubbing his whole face. “I’ll shut up now!”

“N-no,” I say, “I like it…”

It’s super personal and it kinda embarrass me, but it’s way better than his silent treatment anyway.

“No, really!” He wiggles closer to me, with expectant eyes. “Why don’t _you_ tell me something ‘bout _your_ past now?”

Seriously?

“Like what?” I scratch my head, the cool grass itching my cheeks as I lie on my sides to face him.

“Hm…” He thinks, plucking little tuffs of grass, “How about…

He needs a few seconds before coming up with something.

“How did you become friends with a freaking Native Dragon? This always made zero sense to me.”

What?

Venti and me?

…

“Well, I practically grew up by her side, how not to be friends like this?” I answer plainly, and he raises an eyebrow at me.

That wasn’t enough, right?

I sigh before continuing.

“My mother was one of Venti’s servants, her favorite one. They said she always kept me close to Venti, so she could keep an eye on both of us at the same time.” I say, unconsciously smiling fondly at the memory.

“So you were raised in a palace? Nice…” Doug comments, shredding to tiny pieces the weeds he plucked.

“Tsk, it wasn’t a palace back then. Just a regular building, big enough for a dragon…” I say, the sudden breeze messing up my hair. Like Venti wings would do.

I take my bangs out of my face, and I can tell Doug’s right in front of me but my gaze is elsewhere now.

“You know, that palace is so stupid. Venti wasn’t so formal at the time. She didn’t hide her feelings like she does now.” I take a deep breath, feeling the scent of cut grass. “I heard she cried more than me when my mother passed away.”

Or so I heard, I was just a little kid. Doug offers me his hand, in sympathy.

“It couldn’t be helped.” I add, grabbing his hand back anyway. “But then, a few years later…”

“Venti started getting weaker and weaker too.”

“So you voluntarily sacrificed yourself for her?”

_Etherlink._

“Tsk… It’s not like I had any choice.”

 

_An arcane spell that merges a person with a monster, resulting in an overflow of Runes to the land—and therefore, strengthening the Native Dragon._

”The enemy empire was growing stronger, and our protector growing weaker. We couldn’t give them a chance to attack.” I say, repeating what I’ve been told so many times before.

“I was chosen by the king himself, they had me locked up and everything. The spell would only work on those closer to Venti, and I was the only one at the time”

“That might have sucked huh?” Doug fusses, clenching my hands.

“It was super boring, but it could be worse you know.” I say, surprised to be talking about this with someone, for the first time.

“I mean, weak as she was, Venti would still visit me every day… She even taught me how to fish on the canals surrounding my shack.”

“S-she _taught_ you? How long did they kept you locked up anyway?”

I sigh deeply, feeling the calluses on his hand.

“Just until I turned eighteen… I guess even the desperate would not fuse a minor with a monster. That was what at the time? Four months?”

“Four months of your youth in jail. Hardcore!” He says, smiling stupidly.

“Shut up,” I push him, holding a smile.

“But you know… Looking back, I doubt they really wanted to keep me locked.

“I mean, the shack they put me on was so flimsy, they didn’t chain me up…And the only guard would leave every day to get me food, leaving the key in the lock. It all felt so ridiculous I didn’t even try to run away.

“They gave me every chance to escape, even on the ceremony day. Lots of people showed up, all of them saying things like ‘he’s just a kid’ or ‘run away, don’t carry this burden alone!’…”

My chest feels tight at the memory. At the time I didn’t understand what their words meant, but…

“They wanted you to live.” Doug concludes for me.

“I guess so…” I breathe, the cold wind giving me shivers. “Though it’s not like I had any reason to keep living back then.”

At this, Doug strengthens the grip on my hands and stares at me with stern eyes. “Well, _now_ you do! So don’t ever think of sacrificing yourself anymore okay?” He says, his serious face tinged in a deep pink.

I blink at his words, feeling my own cheeks blushing.

“I wouldn’t, idiot.” I murmur, honestly.

At my promise, Doug kisses my hands gently before sitting up. I sit by his side, a thousand times lighter for some reason… This was the first time I opened up about my past like this.

It felt good.

“Hey…” He lightly elbows my sides, “Want to put these on?”

I look at his cupped hand, the rings I spent so much time and blood.

Deep breath…

“You know people are going to ask about it, right?”

“Yea?” He murmurs, biting his lips again. Was that a question?

“You ready for it?” I ask him, trying to hide my own nerves.

He takes a DEEP breath, puts on his ring and then says a solid “Maybe!”

…

Same.


	32. Blessing

The town square sure looks busy for a Sunday evening… And if anything, being surrounded by tourists sure makes the thought of coming out a little scarier than I first imagined.

I unconsciously pocket my hands as we make our way to the castle. Glaring at the stone floor, I try to stop the streaming thoughts in my head.

 

_Hi Venti, listen, can two guys get married?_

_I know it’s not common, but…_

_Would YOU, I don’t know, bless a ceremony between two dudes?_

_No? What if one was a friend of yours? Say, someone who sacrificed himself for you?_

_What do you mean “still no”??_

 

Shut up, it won’t go that way. Probably.

We step into the Castle Gate and I glance at Doug for a second before walking inside. He looks nervous too, chewing his lip, hands tucked inside the pocket of his jacket. But as soon as he notices my stare, he gives me a thumbs up and smiles confidently. Well, fake confidence is confidence anyway, right?

We make our way through the entrance and, even though is quite crowded out there, Venti’s all alone in the room. A fourteen feet tall dragon sitting ridiculously on the center of this bright fancy room.

“Oh it’s you!” She says as soon as she spots me, in that unfittingly girly voice of hers, “You know, it can be rather lonely here. I would be pleased to speak with you more often.”

The same guilt trip speech as always? Tsk, you’re not fooling me...

“You have Lest right next door now,” I answer, stepping closer to her. “What do you mean by lonely?”

Suddenly she opens up her wings and huffs, the wind coming from her messing up my bangs.

“Hmph! Now he’s getting serious with Meg, he simply doesn’t have time for old Ventuswill, not anymore!” She says, like the jealous little girl she hides beneath that thousand years old dragon skin.

Then she sighs, and her tone and eyes drop.

“Friends forget about you once they get married, it just keeps happening…”

Marriage. Right… That’s why we’re here for.

I give Doug a side-glance—or at least I try to, only now noticing he’s been standing behind me this whole time, hiding in my shadow!

Fake confidence is not confidence after all, huh?

“And what on Earth is Doug doing behind your back, Dylas?” Venti asks, stretching her long neck a little above us, and I swear I hear Doug’s heart stopping.

I clench and unclench my hands inside my pockets, not sure of where to start…

“You know, you better not forget me too once you marry him.” She says, salty, staring at Doug in jealously and—

…

WHAT?

??

“H-h-how did you know about us??” Doug blabbers before me, clinging in my jacket as he turns to face Venti.

Venti tilts her head, looking almost surprised by our reaction—or lack of it, as I’m just frozen in my place.

“What?”, she asks innocently, “You two are the talk of the whole town, did you expect ME not to know a thing?”

The whole—What? But how??

Who could have spread that around?

I bite my lips and look down at Doug. He’s all pink, from neck to ears, a look of sheer shock on his face. But guess I’m one to talk.

“I’m kind offended you didn’t tell me sooner, but that’s okay, I’ll let that pass.” She grumbles, smiling again, “You sure went on lots of dates together didn’t you?”

Would it be bad if I escaped home now?

“I even heard about the… ‘Hickeys’, heh heh.” She teases us, and I’m sure she’d be wiggling her eyebrows if she had a pair.

Fuck, Venti… My face is flaming hot against my palms, as I hide it from the world.

This is not how I played this conversation at all. Well, embarrassment apart, she is being more comprehensive than what I imagined but…

“Lady Ventuswill!” Doug shouts, for Venti’s surprise.

“W-we… We need your blessing for our union!!” He says in one breath, eyes shut as he takes out his right hand from the pocket, showing Venti the ring on his finger.

She widens her eyes and her huge jaw drops. When Doug opens his eyes, he jumps back in surprise at Venti’s face inches away from his hand, her long scaly neck stretched out to us.

“Wow, marriage? Already??” She blinks twice and straightens herself again.

I swallow at her words.

“Lest took at least two years to propose but you aren’t wasting any time huh? Hah hah!” The whole room kind of vibrates with her every laugh and urk… I _know_ it sounds rushed, but… It just feels right. Right?

“Well... As long as you promise not to forget about me… Alright. I’ll allow it.”

So this mean we’re—

“Oh, but not now, right? Make sure to invite everyone for the ceremony, is that a deal?” She says with a shy smile and puppy eyes, “And maybe serve pancakes at the party?”

A laugh escapes my lips and I can’t think straight all of a sudden. I turn to Doug and he looks just as lost as I am, a trembling smile on his face, shifty feet, arms hanging useless on our sides.

“Just hug already.” Venti huffs, rolling her eyes. “Or get a room whatsoever.”

“Venti!!” I shout, but Doug is hugging me tight now, his head buried in my chest, and I’m not sure what’s making me more embarrassed.

“What? Anyone could cut with a knife the sexual tension between you two.” She says, her roar of a laugh shaking the room around us. Doug then turns to Venti, still hugging me.

“Hey Ventuswill!” He exclaims, as if completely unaware of what Venti was just saying, “Thank you!”

The sincere smile on his face makes Venti’s shoulders drop, and her wings close back again. She wraps her tail around her, as for protection, as when caught off-guard.

“Y-you’re welcome Doug…” She says, softly. His smile grows even fonder and he digs his head in my chest again, leaving her at a loss for words.

I was tired of feeling so ashamed, so I’m glad Doug managed to silence Venti somehow. Guess she wasn’t expecting such genuine gratitude, not from Doug, who grew up swearing revenge on Venti, on a crime she didn’t commit…

I guess this means that’s really all in the past.

With a content sigh, I look up to the dark sky up on that open ceiling. I didn’t even realize it was getting this late already.

“Well, we better go, Venti. I should deliver this dwarf to his grandma.” I pat Doug’s back, to which he frowns in response—but he’s happy. I can tell the difference by now.

“Alright, alright. Have a good night!” She shyly waves us goodbye as we turn around and make our way through the highway. I just can’t take this little smile off my face, it’s almost terrible.

As we step in front of the castle’s exit, Doug shyly grabs my hand, making me stop in my spot.

“So… shall we get going?” He asks, squeezing my palm.

What? Does he want to teleport us to his house instead? But it’s just a few steps away…

I look at him in confusion, but at the little blush on his cheeks I realize: he wants to walk to his place like this. Holding hands, like a mushy couple and everything.

…

He’s gotta be kidding me.

—

 

I need to cover my face with my free hand to hide the red burning through my cheeks. Luckily, with my faster stride, we manage to walk to his house in like, ten steps at most, and without running into anybody we know.

PHEW…

“Wow, you need to work on your romantic skills.” Doug sighs exasperated, as we walk inside the closed general store.

“Ugh, I’m just. _Not_ good with public displays of affection okay??” I say, my face still hot from the shame. He turns on the lights and we head to the stairs, our hands still linked.

“That would’ve been such a sweet moment if you didn’t power walk us here like that.” He says, trying to sound mad but laughing instead as we walk upstairs. Heh, judging by those tourists expressions, I guess that was quite a scene.

I’m not sure if he noticed, but my hands are kind of sweaty from all my awkwardness. Doesn’t it bother him? His hand are pretty soft, with calluses and everything, that big ring cold against my skin…

“Watch your step.” He says, as I almost trip on the last step, distracted as I was. “Granny, I’m home!” He shouts, dragging me inside his home.

The whole room smells like porridge—it’s kind of comforting.

“Oh good night,” She says calmly, stepping out of the kitchen in a pink flowery apron, “I figured you’d might bring Dylas tonight, so I made his favorite dish!”

Wow, that’s so thoughtful… How did she even know?

“Doug’s always saying how much you love milk porridge!” She says with a soft smile, as if reading my mind. “Well, he’s talking about you all the time, I just can’t make him to shut up haha…”

“Granny…!” Doug whines, his ears pink. He lets go off my hand to help her put on the table and I want to be useful too, so I just go ahead and try to carry that big pot of porridge.

“Careful, it’s hot! You’ll need-“ Blossom holds my arm before I burn myself, but stops talking mid-sentence for some reason. She just keeps staring at… At…

…

“What an _interesting_ ring...” She says with a smile, making me freeze in my place.


	33. Supper

“What an interesting ring…” Blossom says as she lifts up my hand, the gold ring glistening under the kitchen’s light.

“And look, Doug has one too! How odd!” She adds, holding Doug’s hand and staring at the matching ring on his finger.

She’s smiling knowingly at both of us, like she just caught two little liars. Doug gives her that usual crooked smile while I sweat cold... Is she mad at us?

We should have told her before.

“Is this what it looks like?” She asks calmly, letting go of our hands and examining our faces with blue eyes. I wish I could say this is the first time I felt intimidated by an old lady.

Swallowing nervously, I give Doug a sideway glance, and he’s shifting on his feet, shrugging. I nod quickly, to which Blossom holds her chin and looks up to the ceiling in response, pensive.

“Well,” She finally says after a minute, “Some might say it’s, how do I put this… Too early for supper…”

Supper?

“But,” She continues, “Judging by Doug’s ‘appetite’, it may be just about time, hehe…”

“GRANNY!!” Doug says, his neck red, making me blink in confusion to why the hell did she change subjects like that…

Wait a second.

…

By _supper_ , does she mean _wedding_? And Doug’s appetite is for me??

Damn Blossom, even you?

My face is probably turning pink, so I just stare at her apron instead. It has some patches here and there, must be a somewhat old apron.

“Oh Dylas…” She says, and I look back to her in surprise, “This boy is going to give you so much trouble, you don’t even know.”

Blossom looks at Doug with a soft smile for a moment before continuing.

“He’s not a morning person, so don’t get surprised when he doesn’t wake in time to make his bed.

“He’ll probably leave clothes all over the floor, and he will complain every time you make him organize his stuff. He hates doing dishes and can’t cook well either.”

Doug’s starting to get sad at her words, judging by the way his eyes are glued on his shifting feet…

“He also…” She looks down at her apron, crossing her arms and taking a deep breath. “Worries to much…”

Doug raises his head in surprise, staring at Blossom as she keep going.

“He will nag you to take your medicines even though you insist you’re fine… He will go as far as taking charge of the store for two whole days in a week, so you don’t overwork yourself.”

She laughs a bit, “He may act like he’s slacking off, but only a fool would believe that... He’ll work hard for you…

“And believe me, he will take you rushing to the clinic if you ever feel slightly dizzy.”

“Granny…!” Doug mutters, embarrassed. “You weren’t supposed to tell anyone about this! What about my _cool guy_ image?”

“Well, to be fair,” I say, “Even I heard about this story, Doug.”

Doug’s crushed face almost makes me laugh. Blossom smiles at him, and pats his back.

“Oh dear, it’s almost as if we’re indeed related!” She says, “I used to be this proud and silly too, haha!”

“Silly??” Doug shouts, indignant, but it goes ignored.

“I’ve got to say, we’re alike even with our obsessive worrying… This kid used to be so serious when he first came in town, it made me worried sick.”

Yeah, six years ago feels like an eternity. Doug was shifty and barely talked to anyone—but I guess this is what you’d expect from a revenge-driven spy…

“Do you remember, Doug? You only told me your name and, after I insisted so much, your birthday. It wasn’t after all the Sechs mess ended up that I first saw you smiling...”

She sighs, watery blue eyes directed at me now.

“I’m happy you found someone who can make you smile from ear to ear.”

!!

W-what was that for??

Doug moans, flustered as me. After she stops laughing, she turns at me again.

“By the way, since you’re getting married… Have you two decided where are you going to live? After marrying?”

Oh. Not at all, now that she mentioned… We can’t possibly move into my tiny room at the restaurant, it’s too small for the two of us. And the walls are _freakish_ thin in there. But it’s not like we could live he—

“Huh, maybe here?” Doug shrugs before I can say anything, scratching his head, to which Blossom just laughs in response.

“Don’t be silly Doug, you’ll need a place for yourselves now.” She says, walking towards that little cabinet near the staircase. “You know that little house next door?”

“Yeah?” Doug answers, unsure of where she’s going with this.

“The owner never managed to sell that place, she always asked for an absurd price and nothing less! That old nag, I’ll tell you…” Blossom says with a frown, opening the second drawer and fumbling through it.

“Fortunately,” She goes on, taking her closed fist from the drawer, “Lest came here with Margaret last week… He bought her a few things, like that famous violin, you know the one, right?”

“WOW, seriously? How rich is he??” Doug takes a step back, his jaw wide open. Even I know the one… It must be thanks to all those Gold Juices he sells.

Blossom steps towards us, and after a second, she opens up her palm.

It’s a…

“I bought it for you, Doug. The little house next door…” She says with a smile as we stare to the brass key on her wrinkly hands. “Of course, I didn’t expect you to move there so soon, but oh well.” She shrugs, putting the key on Doug’s shaking hands.

…

“Y-you didn’t have to…” Doug says clenching the key, with that guilty expression he does when someone does something too nice for him.

“Well, blood or no blood, you are my grandson, aren’t you?” She smiles fondly at Doug. He gives a shy smile back, and just stares at the key for a minute.

“Granny…” He starts, looking touched. It looks like he’s about to say something deep or emotional…

“Huh, can we eat now? I’m hungry.”

…

“Idiot…” I murmur, rubbing my eyes, but Blossom is laughing anyway. She turns around and grabs the porridge pot—with her bare hands? Oh, it’s probably colder by now. She puts it on the oven and lights the flame, to reheat it.

Doug sits on the table, admiring the small key with a smile on his lips. I stand still, barely processing what just happened. Not only Blossom accepted me and Doug getting married, she even gifted us a place to live.

I take a deep breath.

…

“Blossom…” I start, to which she turns to face me. “I know you’re doing this for Doug… B-but thanks. It means a lot… Er…” Damn, why am I so bad with words??

She widens her eyes and then frowns at me. D-did I do something wrong?

“Don’t be like that!” She says, “This is for you too. After all, you’re my grandson too now, aren’t you?”

…

Thank you, Blossom.


	34. Thirst

“Phew, I’m glad we escaped the dishes tonight.” Doug says as we step out of his house, the air out here even colder after eating a big bowl of hot porridge.

“We should have insisted more on helping…” I say, pocketing my hands as I wait Doug to close the door. “She gave us a freaking house!”

“Pfft, you don’t know Granny yet. She’s more stubborn than me, she wouldn’t let you help her today.” Doug smiles confidently, linking his arm on mine, “Trust me.”

Oh. We’re doing the couple walk thing again?... Shit, I better get used to it. I’m glad the town is practically desert at late night. And what a ugly cloudy night this is…

“Can you believe that place is ours now?” Doug says, pulling me along to the house across the street. We stop in front of it and he looks up to the building, hugging my arm in silent excitement. His warmth distracting me for a moment—I guess the couple walk thing isn’t so bad in the end…

“Yeah, I know what you’re thinking…” He starts, making me blink, “It looks small for the two of us, but hey, it’s free!”

I wasn’t thinking that at all, but now that he mentioned…

“Besides, I don’t have much stuff. As long as we have a rice pot and a bed, I’m good to go!” He laughs, as I keep looking at the house— _our_ house.

Judging by the outside, it looks just as big as Margaret’s place, maybe a little smaller. The chimney makes me curious—I never had one, wonder if it’s good on cold days like this… Hmm, it’s not exactly an old building, but it’s not shining new either, the yellow paint is starting to chip but whatever.

“Are you going to let me talk alone every time?” Doug asks a bit annoyed, elbowing me.

“Huh, s-sorry,” I say, as he starts walking towards my house, pulling me along, “I was distracted.”

“You were distracted the whole dinner, and even now…” Doug puffs, “What’s wrong?”

Wrong?

There’s nothing wrong.

“I’m just happy...” I say without thinking as we stop in the stairs close to the Porcoline’s. I can’t help the blush on my face as I watch the biggest smile slowly forming on his lips. “W-well, can you blame me? We got engaged today, Venti blessed us and Blossom even gifted us a house!”

For once, everything is going right in my life, I don’t even know how to deal with it.

It’s almost unreal.

Letting go of my arm, Doug jumps up two steps from the stairs we’re standing on. He turns around to face me and, damn it’s weird to have him on eye level. But why would he…

Oh—

He’s biting his lips as he holds my face, staring into my eyes before boldly stealing me a kiss. And if for one instant I panic if anybody’s seeing this, it easily goes away as he slips his tongue inside my mouth, his hot breath on my cold lips sending me shivers.

I close my eyes and kiss him back, my lips trembling as I start to move them against his. Hm, I like the way he’s grasping my hair… And his muffled moans inside my mouth make it so hard to breathe.

But rain starts to pour. Heavily. As if nature itself is bothered by this pda.

We break apart instantly, those huge droplets ice cold on my skin. Luckily we manage to run inside the restaurant before it got us too bad...

“I…” I pant, as I turn on the lights, “Huh, we better get a towel…”

“Tsk,” Doug says, breathing heavily, “Too bad the rain didn’t get us completely huh.”

Bad?

“You mean good, right?” I ask, walking upstairs in fast steps.

“Good it would be if you ended up in a wet shirt, like this morning…” He says. I glance back at him biting his lips—gee, Doug.

“Plus, if I was soaked, you could have helped me out the wet clothes, you know?” He adds as we walk into my room.

“You’re helpless, aren’t you?” I smirk, opening up the wardrobe and getting us some towels. I dry myself and then I watch Doug rubbing the towel hastily on his head.

He ruffles his hair—it’s still a little damp but, judging by how he dropped the towel to the floor, he doesn’t care anymore.

“Hey…” He starts, slowly taking off his gauntlets, eyes glued on me, “You know, one could say we’re practically a married couple, right?”

Doug…

“Where you going with this?” I raise him an eyebrow, as he helps himself off his precious jacket. I can’t help my drumming heartbeat when he steps closer to me, standing between my open legs.

“I mean, Granny didn’t want us to, huh, get intimate before marrying...” He bites his lips, looking apprehensive for a second, “But… It’s cool now? Right? Kind of?”

His eyes read _“ **please** agree with me on this one...” _ and all we can hear for a moment is the rainstorm outside…

…

_“Judging by Doug’s appetite…”_

_…_

“You _are_ hungry for me, aren’t you?” I mock him, referring Blossom’s commentary. He then laughs and before I realize, he’s holding my face again, moving his lips to my ears.

“I’m fucking thirsty, Dylas…” He murmurs, his hot breath making me shiver. I gasp when he moves his mouth to my neck, gentle kisses slowly turning into shameless licks and bites.

I lie down on my bed, propping myself on my elbows as Doug leans against me, sucking my neck so hard it takes out my breath. F-fuck… This is going to leave a mark again… I pant desperately, clumsily trying to unbutton my shirt—turns out it’s impossible with Doug’s body so close to me, warm and nice and…

“A-aah, Doug...!” I moan when he starts grinding himself against me, making me so hard.

“Hang on...” Doug murmurs against my skin, standing up and hastily taking off his shirt and belt. I unbutton my shirt with shaky hands, unable to look away from Doug’s stripping off all of his clothes.

I barely finish the last button and he’s already fully naked in front of me, holding his hard cock and staring at me full of need.

“Fuck, Doug… You’re beautiful…” I say, my face hot as he starts to stroke himself in front of me, a naught little grin on his lips. The sight makes my own cock throb in anticipation, so I take off my pants, still hypnotized by the way he slowly touches himself.

He bites his lips when I take off my underwear, and strokes himself faster at the sight of my erection. I shift myself in bed, fully lying on it and Doug joins me, straddling my thighs. I hiss in pleasure when he inadvertently rubs our cocks together, while he leans down to kiss my chin.

“Hey,” He whispers, starting to move against me—his skin feels so good, goddammit… “What do you want to do tonight?”

My breath is starting to get ragged, and I can barely think straight anymore.

“I…”

My face burns at the thought—I don’t know why it makes me so shy, we did it before right? Just ask him…

“I-I…” I pant on his ear, while he rocks his cock against mine, “S-suck me, Doug…”

I can’t believe I said it… My throat is on fire, and I hear his little laugh as he kisses my neck, shifting down on the bed until he’s kissing my stomach. He pumps my cock and I’m drooling a bit in anticipation…

Oh, right… “Huh, should I… Close my eyes or something?” I ask, remembering last time. At this, he blushes a little harder but smiles anyway, moving his face closer to my dick.

“Y-you can look if you want to…” He says, before sticking out his tongue and slowly licking the head, making me cry in pleasure. Oh fuck, the sigh of it…

He holds my shaft firmly and starts to suck the tip of my cock, his mouth wet and hot on me.

“A-aaah!...” I moan as he moves his head up and down, taking my whole length, my vision blurring… I gasp for air every time it hits his throat…

He breaks apart panting desperately, and strokes my wet dick a few times before licking it, tracing a line from the shaft to the head, making me squirm miserably.

His face is so red and his eyes are full of lust when he starts licking me again, staring teasingly at me.

“D-doug!” I whine as he plays with me, my cock throbbing inside his mouth… Fuck… I won’t last too much like this…

“Doug…” I pant, stroking his hair, “S-stop, please…” I don’t want to come, not yet…

He stops and looks at me confused, but seems to understand what’s going on once I push him to lie on my bed, sitting between his legs afterwards.

He bites his red, wet lips and stares at me with half-shut eyes as I grab him… His short and hard cock pulsing in my hand.

_I can’t believe I’m doing this._

I take a deep breath and my face glows when I lean in to kiss the tip, the sensitive skin soft and warm against my lips.

Doug’s legs trembles when I open my mouth to take his cock, shyly licking the head and closing my lips around his length. He moans in pleasure, hands grasping the sheets tighter at each inch I take in…

It’s odd, but at the same time exciting as hell to have his throbbing cock fully inside my mouth, hard and wet.

Damn, it’s hard to breathe like this. I draw back for air, stroking his dick close to my mouth and Doug whines... He wraps his fingers around my head lovingly, and I suddenly mouth him whole, his cock hard against my throat.

“A-AH… Dylas!” Doug cries, holding my head and thrusting upwards. My face burns and my cock throbs at the dirty feel of him fucking my mouth, so I start to stroke myself, moaning mouthful…

He’s panting and trembling with each thrust, making me so horny... Drool starts to drip from my mouth, so I just suck it and swallow, and Doug cries so hard I almost choke myself.

“Hm, d-d-do it again…” He begs, letting go of my face to rubs his own. His chest is moving up and down and he cries again when I suck his hard cock, licking the shaft and head afterwards.

He’s twitching in agony as I suck him, I pump myself harder, and harder… Fuck, I’m so close…

“Dylas, I’m going to—“ He gasps, pushing me away and coming on his own hands with a shaky moan. He shuts his eyes and shudders, his mouth hanging in pleasure as cum shoots through his wet cock.

I feel myself on the edge at the sight, so I sit up and finish myself, my legs twitching as I come into my fist. I pump my throbbing cock until the last drop comes out, and collapse on the bed by the end of it, desperately panting by Doug’s side.

“F-fuck…” Doug moans, his breath evening out, “T-that was awesome…”

I can barely talk so I just nod, my vision still so blurry…

Man, I’m in complete bliss, this was so much better than doing it alone… The rain outside is still pouring hard, it’s going to be nice sleeping through it.

But… It’s odd… As we clean ourselves and put on our clothes again, I can’t shake the feeling I’m forgetting something.

Hm…

I must be imagining things.

.

.

.

!!

“My laundry!!”


	35. Recollection

Monday morning.

I stand in the corridor, in my robes, furrowing my brow trying to recall yesterday’s events.

…

I did the laundry first thing in the morning, then had lunch at Doug’s.

We went to the waterfalls and I freaking proposed him. The ring in my finger is evidence enough.

Next we talked to Venti, had dinner and… Came back here to. Err… Do stuff.

Doug left, I slept alone.

Yep. That’s pretty much all I did yesterday.

Then _when_ exactly did I take my clothes out of the rain??

I don’t remember doing it, but they all here in a laundry basket, sitting neatly in the hall! It couldn’t be Doug’s doing, right? He laughed his ass off when I told him I forgot them on the rain.

Also I doubt the dwarf (or even me, for the matter) could fold them so sharply. Maybe Meg and Porco came back earlier?

Or maybe…

“I saw them from my window when I arrived, judging by the sky I thought it could rain later so…” A familiar voice comes from across the hall. “You’re welcome!”

Of course.

“You could’ve said hi yesterday, Arthur.” I say, as he approaches me with a smile, his notebook in hands. He’s still in his pajamas but he’s working already.

“Didn’t want to, hm, bother you.” He says, not taking his eyes of his work. “Oh, I meant to return this to you.”

He takes a big pouch from his robe’s pocket and hands me, but I don’t open it yet. Instead, I just shove it in my pockets, closing Arthur’s notebook next.

He stares at me, startled.

“Did you have breakfast already?” I ask, annoyed. When Porco’s not here, Arthur spends way too much time working. He forgets to eat, it’s just not good for him.

He blinks twice in surprise, but after a minute softens his expression.

“True, true. Breakfast sounds nice about now.” He says, putting down his notebook and making his way downstairs.

“I do have some news to tell you, Dylas.”

—

 

“So, remember the client I was going to meet?” Says Arthur, as I grab us some apples from the fruit bowl.

“Not really… What about it?” I answer, a bit uninterested in his business, to be honest.

“Heh, I figured you wouldn’t recall it…”

I take a bite of the crispy apple, while Arthur reaches for a knife. We sit across each other on the restaurant kitchen’s table as he keeps talking.

“This client, he was the one who said to know about that flower you asked me.”

Oh. The flower Doug gave me, the _flowers_ Lest gave me.

I completely forgot about them this week…

And what a week this was.

I take another bite of my apple, while Arthur peels his with surgical precision.

“Anyway,” he goes on, “Turns out the man was completely insane.”

“Huh? Why?” I ask, mouthful.

“You wouldn’t believe the stories he told me. Luckily I had other appointments in that town, otherwise I would have wasted a trip…”

Arthur brows are unusually furrowed and he’s peeling the apple a bit too fast, but he somehow manages to keep his composed aura nonetheless.

We’re really different in that aspect.

“What did he tell you anyway?” I ask, grabbing another apple. It was freaking mealy, so I just spit it and grab another…

“Well, it’s not the story in particular that annoyed me, I’m fond of legends and folklore myself…” Arthur says, putting the knife down. “But his attitude was quite inelegant.”

What happened already?

“As soon as I showed him the flower, he tried to steal it away from me.”

“He what??” I clench my bitten apple, angry surprise turning into concern, “But wait, did he hurt you?”

“Don’t worry about it, he was completely harmless.” Arthur says, not actually eating his apple. Maybe it was mealy too?

“He just came off as a lunatic man, telling stories about magical flowers and stuff."

Magical?

“Anyway, besides this man’s crazy stories, I couldn’t find out much about the flower Dylas. Most people I asked thought it was just an ugly, if rare, weed and wouldn’t offer much for it—not that I was trying to sell it.” Arthur says defensively. “I was just curious about its value.”

Arthur really is more of a merchant than a prince, huh.

“Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.”

I wave him a mute “don’t worry about it” and we go back to eating in silence for a moment. Arthur’s apple doesn’t sound crisp like mine but he’s eating it anyway.

But man, if he couldn’t dig the truth about this flower, then nobody can.

…

Unless…

_Magical…_

“Hey, Art…”  I ask, putting down the apple core.

He looks up to me, finishing his pieces as well.

“Did that lunatic stories had something to do with death?”

He stares at me in confusion for five solid seconds. So he doesn’t know what I’m talking about? Ah, there goes my suspicion—

 

“How did you know that?” He asks, eyebrows raised in puzzlement.

...

No way.

—

 

It’s been two hours since breakfast but I still can’t entirely digest this. I lie uselessly in my bed, throwing and catching that sack Arthur gave me again and again.

 

_“Ayngondaia Lawn. A tale few have heard about, said the man. He depicted a flower just like yours: layered golden petals, vivid green core, a perfect fit in both cupped hands. Then, he said the impossible.”_

 

Two different people telling the same story doesn’t make it real… I know that much, I’m not _that_ simple. But

 

_“He said this flower could save you from certain death.”_

 

It definitely makes it scarier.

I open up the pouch and stare at the flower inside, a few memories coming back to me.

Doug gifting me one like this… How it sucked when I thought I had lost it... When Doug told me about the legend behind it…

Looking back, I wasn’t entirely convinced when he told me about it, and I admit I forgot all about it up until now. But if the legend is real, I guess

Our first date could have ended _way_ different.

…

Nah, no way.

If this was a legendary flower, why would Lest have so many of them? Why would it bloom again after he picked it up?

Just because he’s an Earthmate?

…

…Actually, yes. This would explain _a lot_.

Tsk, I might need to talk to him about the flowers—he’s always running up and down Rune Prana, he probably need them more than anyone. I close the sack and put it on my bed stand.

As I dress myself for the day, I can’t help this nagging feeling in my head… It’s almost like I’m forgetting about something or someone—

!

Fuck. Doug’s waiting for me.


	36. Picnic

Why did the dwarf had to pick such a faraway place for a date??

I curse under my sharp breath as I finally reach Autumn River, spotting Doug at the distance.

“It was about time!” He shouts, sitting up from the orange grass he was lying on. “Food’s probably cold by now.”

Food?

“S-sorry...” I wheeze lamely, approaching his frowny face in sore legs. “I ran as fast as I could.”

He looks at me up and down, clicking his tongue in disapproval.

“With those darn long legs, one would think you’d run faster…” He says, with the slightest grin in the corner of his lips.

“Is that a compliment or an offense?”

“Both?” He smiles, bright and annoying like usual.

 _Stupid dwarf_ , I think, somehow fondly, as I watch him take a huge basket from behind the tree, digging inside it for a blanket?

Oh, it’s a tablecloth. So this is what this date’s all about…

A picnic.

We set the blanket and sit on it, side by side here on Autumn River, under my favorite tree’s shadow…

“You know, you should have told me you’re planning a picnic for today.” I say, while he takes out from the basket a bottle of juice of what I’m assuming it’s orange (though it’s way too orangey…)

“I would have helped with the food.”

“What, to hear you brag about how well you can cook while I can’t cook shit? _Again_? No thank you.”

“Am I _that_ mean-spirited?” I ask, almost offended by the surprised look that follow up on his face.

“You kidding me?” He cracks a smile, “You’re always teasing me ‘bout these things! But not today!”

He triumphantly puts a dish in front of us, with so many layers of plastic wrap around it I can’t even tell what’s inside. He repeats the action with two more dishes, with a stupid little “ha” every time.

I almost smile at this.

He then pushes the basket aside, crossing his arms and tilting his chin up, as if silently bragging. His eyes read “well?” and I don’t know what we’re waiting for now.

“Aren’t you going to compliment me or something?” He finally says, looking back at me. “I did all of those without even eating recipe bread!”

This somehow worries me. I don’t even know what he cooked, but the fact he didn’t eat magical bread to learn the recipes…

“So how did you—

“Granny taught me! Took the whole morning, but I did it!” He says, with a sigh. His eyes do look a little tired, now that I notice it.

“Oh, I see.” I say, feeling a tad guilty for doubting him while he put so much effort into this.

…

“Well, if you’re not opening them, I will.” He says, grabbing a dish and unravelling an unreasonably amount of plastic wrap. It slowly reveals a layer of…

Sandwiches?

“I thought you hated bread?” I ask, lifting my gaze to him. He has a somewhat queasy look on his face.

“I do,” he admits, setting the dish and then rolling the plastic in a ball, “These are tuna sandwiches, I… I kind of made them for you?”

He turns to grab the other dish but I notice the blushing cheeks before his bangs get in the way. And I hate how my own are tingling right now…

“Anyway, if you don’t like the sandwiches, I also made us some boiled eggs...” He says, opening the second dish, a few round and shiny eggs rolling inside. “And of course, the best for last.”

He unwraps the last dish: a surprisingly nice set of onigiri, wrapped neatly in seaweed.

“These sure look better than the last ones you made.” I mock him, referring to the sweet gooey mess of rice balls he gave me two weeks ago.

“Thanks, they taste better too!” He smiles, failing to notice the mockery. “They’re salmon filled! And by the way, this is carrot juice!”

“Impressive…” I think out loud, to which he blushes happily, so proud of himself, so silly.

“I needed to up my husband game, since we’re engaged now.” He smiles, linking our hands, eyes on those shiny rings.

Suddenly my stomach feels bad in anticipation, partly for the food but mostly for the life I’ll get to have with Doug by my side. Smiling, snoring, stuffing his face with food…

 _Food_. Oh god, I’m so hungry.

Doug and I might be oddly in sync, because his stomach roars like a dragon just now.

“Well,” He says, unlinking our hands, “Let’s dig in?”

—

 

“So,” Doug starts, as I help him pack up the empty dishes back in the basket. “in a scale from 1 to 10, how much you liked my food?”

“It was nice,” I answer, handing him those wasteful balls of plastic wrap. “I liked everything.”

“1 to 10!” He insists, packing up the last dish. “Come on, grade me!!”

Gee, Doug…

“Fine. Six.” I answer, folding Blossom’s tablecloth. “Happy now?”

“SIX?! I thought you said you liked it?” He asks dumbfounded.

“I did! But you asked for a grade!” Six is a good grade, he’s no professional cook yet!

“Aw man, you’re too brutally honest… But I’m glad you liked it either way!” He says, sitting back against the tree, putting the basket aside.

He looks at me and taps his crossed thighs with his hand—he keeps tapping it until I finally understand the invitation.

Yea, I’m kinda drowsy, I could use a pillow right now (even one as lean as Doug’s thighs.)

So I lie next to him, resting my head on his thighs, his fingers immediately brushing through my hair. I sigh happily, trying my best not to blush at the endearing look he’s giving me.

“Man…” Doug says after a minute in silence, “To think one day you’d be calmly lying here in my lap, after a picnic...”

“Hm, what about it?” I ask, eyes half closed, trying not to doze off at his touch.

“It’s a fucking accomplishment, don’t you think?” He grins at me. “I mean, I think even taming Thunderbolt would be easier than seducing you.”

He shakes in laughter beneath my head while the rage runs up to my neck, awaking me.

“Stop comparing me with that horse, Doug!!”

“Sorry, sorry… I’ll stop it.” He smirks, catching his breath, hands now caressing my ears. My _horse_ ears. They twitch involuntarily and heat hits my face, but it’s probably from the anger, right?

He slowly runs his left thumb behind one of the ridiculous earlobe, his right hand feeling the fluffy skin of the other, gently tugging it. He’s humming contently, and I close my eyes, half-relaxed half-tense at his stroke.

I gasp when I notice I’ve been holding my breath. Doug’s gentle touch is sending me shivers from neck to tail and

Oh no, that heat was not just anger I’m—he’s…

“HMmm…” The most guttural moan escapes my lips and before I notice, my face burns full red, Doug hands stopping where they were. He keeps still for a minute while I hide my mouth in my hands.

“Holy fuck, Dylas.” Doug starts, incredulous, and I just bury myself deeper in the fluffy of my jacket, face flaming. “Is this turning you on?”

Before I can say anything, he strokes my ears again, his fingers like electricity on my skin and—

I muffle another moan, feeling weak, my heart thundering in my chest, my pants—my pants a little tighter than I’d like to admit.

“Wow.” Doug says, sounding happy as if he found a treasure. This is stupid, he’s just touching my ears, how can my body betray me and react like this??

He keeps caressing me, playing with the fluff, digging his fingers behind my ears… The more he touches me, the more of a puddle I become, melting in hot agony, small whimpers shamelessly escaping my trembling lips.

“Remind me of this trick on our honeymoon…” Doug whispers playfully in my ears, twitching at his hot breath, shivers down my spine.

…

“Why wait?” I ask, voice low, feeling my face numb with desire.

He stares at me dumbfounded, his own face and ears bright pink in the blink of an eye.


	37. Rehearsal

Bless the escape spell in moments like these.

Before I realize, we’re already here in Doug’s room, the vertigo and his hot breath in my mouth making me fall dizzy on his bed, clanking our teeth. He uses the motion to climb on my lap, biting my lips and I’m already so hard I’m sure he can feel it.

I return the favor and sink my teeth in his lower lip, sucking his tongue when he moans in response. He’s grasping my hair so tight while I clench his thighs, wishing there weren’t so many layers separating our skins.

“Hmm, Dylas…” Doug whispers between kisses, sounding almost drunk as I kiss him wet and hard, my hands unconsciously trying to tug his pants down.

Then, a noise downstairs startle us—in the store, a client might have dropped a can with a “thump”. We stop still, staring at each other with racing hearts, panting in need.

“Want to go to my place?” I murmur, not recognizing my own voice. Doug then nods two, three times and we clumsily stand up, but instead of grabbing my hand, he crouches down next to his bed stand.

He takes something out of the last drawer and shovels into his pocket before I ask anything—only then grabbing my hand, waiting with expectant eyes.

I take a deep breath and escape us to my bedroom.

—

 

We hastily kick off our shoes and lie here on my bed, Doug crawling on top of me, straddling my hips. I breathe in anticipation when he grabs the back of my head, shaky fingers pulling me closer to his mouth.

His kisses are making me hotter, but… his lips are trembling and he backs up for air a little too much, eyes swimming around instead of meeting mine—am I missing something here?

“Hey,” I start, my chest racing against him, “You nervous?”

He clenches his fists in my hair tighter, biting his lip while still avoiding eye contact.

“M-me?” He asks, his face red, his heart drumming so hard I feel it in my chest, “W-why would I be nervous?”

I don’t know. It’s not like we haven’t done this before, right?

“If anything, I think I’d be nervous on our honeymoon…” He goes on, moving his shaky lips to my cheeks, his short breath warm against my skin. “You know, with all this pressure that it needs to be great and stuff…”

He then swallows loud enough for me to hear, and whispers in my ear before I notice.

“D-do you want to… _practice_ for our honeymoon?”

 

Practice? Does he mean…

!!

“W-WHAT?” I panic under him, sitting up, my heart beating on my throat.

He lets go of me and sits back on my thighs, the red on his face indistinguishable from his hair.

“I’m sorry!! I-It’s okay if you’re not ready I just-“ He stutters, waving his hands in front of him, “I-I thought maybe if we rehearsed it, it could go better on the day and… Ugh!!”

He drops his face on his hands, falling sideways on the mattress with a groan, while I struggle just to breathe.

So… He’s so nervous about our first time that he wants to rehearse our first time?

…

“Your logic is so stupid, dwarf.” I mock him, trying not to laugh but failing miserably. I cry in laughter at the frown in his flustered face, smushed against the bed.

“H-hey!!”, He protests, sitting up. “It made sense in my head!”

It takes me a minute until I can finally breathe normally, and the pout on Doug’s face almost makes me feel bad now. I wrap my arms around him, feeling sappy and embarrassed at how much I love this stupid dork.

He hugs me back, sitting between my legs, his warm embrace suddenly making me so happy.

So brave.

“You know, flawed logic aside…” I murmur, resting my face against his neck, enjoying the goosebumps on his skin, my voice barely leaving my mouth next.

“We could give it a try.”

I swallow nervously, and Doug’s probably not breathing because his chest is still. He takes a shaky gasp, trying to turn and face me, but I have my lips on his neck already, and all he can do is whimper.

I taste the sweet salt on his skin, biting it, sucking it. He grabs my face and gives me a kiss before asking “When did you become so bold?” laughing in my mouth, and I can’t help but smile back. We break apart to get rid of these clothes, because I can’t wait to feel his soft skin warm against mine...

Doug is still shaking his shorts off while I’m already naked on my bed, blushing at the hungry look on Doug’s face. Biting my lips, I temptingly wrap my fingers around my hard cock, pumping it slowly, a drop of precum leaking at the tip.

I look back at Doug with half-closed eyes to see him burning red, his own cock hard under his underwear. He crawls closer, resting between my legs, trembling fingers caressing my thighs as he lovingly kisses them.

Heat runs up from my neck to my face when his kisses start growing wetter and closer to the groin. He’s grasping my thighs, my cock throbs at his hot breath close, so close…

Then he stops, drawing back with a grin. Fuck Doug, don’t tease me like this!! I throw the pillow at him and he just laughs apologetic, leaving the bed searching for… His shorts?

Wait, was he just kidding? He can’t possibly get dressed and leave me here like this, right??

Before I ask anything, he shuffles through the pockets of his pants, grabbing a small bottle (the same he grabbed from his bedroom a while ago) and he crawls back to bed.

“What is—“

“Lube.” He interrupts me, his face flaming as he tries to get the flask open with shaking fingers. I tighten the grip on my cock unconsciously, my throat dry.

Many questions float through my head as I watch him wet his fingers in the oily substance. Where did you get this? Should I be on all fours for this? Did you do this before? But my mind goes blank when he holds my thighs, spreading them a little apart.

We both swallow nervously and he’s chewing his lip when I look at him—no, there’s no way he did it before. He moves his hand close to me, but then stops and glances at me one more time. I take a deep breath and nod to him, feeling my own hand shaky around my erection when he presses one finger at my entrance, making small circles, the lube cool on his usually warm skin.

I shut my eyes with a sharp gasp at the unfamiliar pressure, the tip of his finger so small but so tight inside me. It’s almost painful when he pushes it further inside, deepening the touch, my chest rising and falling in quick and short breaths.

“Y-you okay?” He asks, still for a moment, stroking my thighs, eyes full of want and concern. I cover my face in both hands, nodding in silence, thankful he’s using his hand and not his dick yet because this, this is so new to me…

Doug… He’s kissing my thighs now, slowly in rhythm with his thrusting finger, and with each slick thrust I start to feel hotter, little by little learning to enjoy the new touch. Then he adds another finger—and after I adjust around the new width, he buries it deep inside me, making me groan.

Suddenly, Doug curls his fingers inside me, and I’m utterly embarrassed by the loud moan that leaves my mouth. He stares at me with a dumbfounded smile and rubs the same spot again, and again, my legs trembling in response, my cock throbbing in sudden need.

I gasp for air and grasp my cock in one hand, the sheets with the other, touching myself with this weirdly intense pleasure—holy fuck, what is this?

A whimper escapes my lips when he pulls off and when I’m about to protest, he takes his hard cock out of his underwear, pouring a generous amount of lube on his hand. I stroke my own cock at the sight of him spreading the oil on his shaft, his eyes dark with lust.

He crawls on his knees closer to me, standing between my legs and a shiver runs through my body when he positions his cock on me, shamelessly rubbing the head on my…

With a careful thrust, he pops the tip inside and I hiss a sharp breath, strengthening the grip on the sheets. His cock feels so much _fuller_ than his fingers, ah…

I open my eyes to see his whole body trembling, his eyes shut and lips pressed in a mix of pleasure and agony. My face flames and my legs convulse when he hold me by the thighs and starts pushing forward, his cock so tight inside me…

“Aaah, D-dylas…” He moans, with lidded eyes, slowly burying his whole length on me and all I can do is groan. With a shaky gasp, he carefully starts rocking himself in and out while I gasp for air, his cock throbbing hard inside me.

When it hits that spot again, I wince in pleasure, wrapping my legs around his lean waist, pulling him closer. At this, Doug moans and his breath falls short, so he starts rolling his hips faster, harder, deeper. Fuck.

I jerk myself, feeling the orgasm building up faster than ever, Doug desperately fucking me, crying in my mouth, the rhythm growing more and more intense until—

Doug suddenly draws back and, with a shaky moan, comes in his fists, hot spill leaking through his fingers. I keep stroking myself, missing his cock inside me but I’m so close anyway

“Fuck!…” I cry, feeling the orgasm shoot through my body.

We just pant in silence for a moment, Doug a total wreck, collapsing over me.

“Was that…” Doug pants, half opening his eyes. “W-was that a good rehearsal?”

“It sure was…” I murmur, rubbing my hands clean in the sheets. “I just wish you had come like, fifteen seconds later.”

“S-sorry, your ass is amazing Dylas.” He says, laughing a little out of breath.

“So...” I smirk at him. “Six out of ten.”

“Six again?? URK!!” He rubs his face, sounding devastated at the grade. I try not to laugh at him, but fail again—and when he realize I’m messing with him, he vengefully starts messing with my hair.

But then

“Oh shit...” He goes, as he notices too late the cum on his fingers, now grossly sticking to my hair.

…

“Well, at least this is just a rehearsal, right?” He laughs nervously.

Ugh, let’s just a take a bath…


	38. Sleepover

It has been a while since the boys last throw a sleepover. I’m guessing cause it’s always Doug’s idea, despite him denying it to death. So it was actually a surprise when Lest came to invite us to his house tonight.

Nighttime, here we are in our pajamas, sitting in a circle on Lest’s room. It’s so much more spacious here, I wonder why we used to do these in Arthur’s room anyway…

“It feels like an eternity since I last saw all of you guys!” Vishnal says, excitedly sitting down on his sleeping bag.

“Even though the Fishing Festival was just a week ago, I must agree.” Arthur adds, with a smile. “What have you been up to?”

Everyone wants to talk at once.

“Oh, Forte’s teaching me how to fence!” Kiel says.

“I learned a new recipe for a sweet, but it tastes a little bitter and charred when I do it, for some reason…” Vishnal comments, sheepishly.

“I found this interesting mushroom today… I wonder in _whose_ drink to put it on.” Leon murmurs the last part, and wait—He can’t do that!

“After ten hours, those turnip ghosts FINALLY dropped Turnip Miracle for me!” Lest says, crying a single tear. The what dropped what now?

“As for me, during my travel, I’ve met a rich girl who liked to eat garbage. It was very… peculiar.” Arthur mentions, with a weirded out face. Doug then laughs and tries to say “You should marry her to Vish—“ but Lest cuts him off, elbowing his sides. Hard.

Doug falls on his side agonizing in pain and, for a second, I worry about him but eh. He deserved it. Luckily, Vishnal didn’t seem to get the half-sentence of the cruel joke, so the damage was minimized.

“Oh, by the way guys,” Lest gets up from his bed to fumble through his drawers. “Look what just arrived!”

Then, he hands each of us an envelope. A fancy envelope.

“It’s mine and Meg’s wedding invitation. This Saturday morning!”

“Wow. Four days from now Lest will be a married man!” Kiel says, opening the invitation with interest. They all go back to talking, Doug’s asking if there’s going to be food, Arthur offering help with whatever preparation there’s left, Leon teasing someone…

While for me, I just inspect the card in my hands, this golden handwritten calligraphy almost matching the gold ring on my finger. Which reminds me I’m getting married to Doug myself someday…

“What about you, Dylas?” Leon asks, snapping me out of my trance. “Any exciting news?”

“Huh…” I say, hiding my hands, my mind blanking out.

Did I do something non-Doug related this week?

…

“Why don’t you tell them about the flower, Dylas?” Arthur rescues me, and why not? I’ve been meaning to tell Lest all about it anyway.

“Hm, sure. Where to start?... There’s this legend Doug told me...”

…

—

 

“So wait. Let me get this straight: you saying the flowers I gave you were _magical_?” Lest asks, tilting his head. “Life-saving magical flowers?”

“I-I don’t know for sure but—

“It sounds like this is what you’re saying. You said one of those saved your life.” Leon comments, fanning himself even though it’s not hot today.

“It really saved him, how can you not recall? You were there too, Lest!” Doug says, crawling inside his sleeping bag.

“Yeah… He was bleeding and unconscious. I was so scared.”

“Impressive as it sounds, this still feels like conjecture to me.” Arthur adds, fixing up his glasses. “After all, I heard the same story from a very unsettling man…”

“Even if it’s just a story, it’s a quite interesting one, right?” Kiel says, smiling. “Makes me want to read more about it!”

“Oh, prince!” Vishnal says, and it always strikes me as odd how he keeps referring to Lest as royalty, even though Arthur is actually the real deal. “Wouldn’t these flowers be useful while you scavenge the Sharance Maze?”

“It sure would save Nancy and Jones those rescue trips.” Leon says, to which Lest give him a stinkeye. “What? It’s true.”

“It would save my _life savings_ , that’s what it would…” Lest says, plopping on his bed with a sigh.

“That’s what I wanted to tell you,” I say, “I’ll give them all back to you if you want.”

It’s only fair, right?

“Really?” He says, sitting up again.

“Yeah, I still have a bag full of them in my room, should I go get ’em?”

“Oh, I do want to see these legendary flowers.” Kiel says, sounding a little sleepy though.

“Same here.” Leon closes his fan, putting it down. “Can you fetch them for us, Dylas?”

Sure, why not?

“I’ll go with you!” Doug promptly says, as I get up from the circle.

“I don’t need help.” I answer, but he gets up anyway. He insists in coming, and I keep telling him there’s no need and…

“What’s wrong with your eyes?” I mutter to him, why he’s winking non-stop like this??

...

Oh. I-I see.

“We’re leaving then. Be right back.” I say, praying my face looks normal and not red but it definitely _feels_ red… They all wave us goodbye and return to conversation. Before I close the door though, I hear Kiel, from all people, whispering “Do you think they’ll be back?”

…

Apparently, we can’t even fool a little boy.

—

 

“Seriously, how can you be so dense??” Doug asks, as I close my room’s door behind us.

“H-how was I supposed to know you wanted to make out?” I say, as he pushes me into my bed, crawling over me.

“Oh, like you didn’t notice me ogling you all night!”

Wait, he did?

“I-I really didn’t!” I answer, honestly. He then stops trying to untie my robe—wow, how didn’t _I_ notice _this_ —and stares at me, like I’m an idiot.

“You keep prancing your bare chest with this half-open robe…” He says, straddling my thighs and slipping a hand inside my robe… “How was I _not_ supposed to eyeball you?”

“Is this the reason you kept inviting us to sleepovers? To stare at me?” I grin, my ears hot.

“You got it.”

And that’s the last thing he says before taking me on kiss.

…

—

 

“S-sorry for the wait,” I say, walking inside the room with Doug and the bag of flowers, “We brought th—

“Shh!” Leon shushes us. What the fuck Leo—oh, Kiel’s asleep already. He then smirks, talking on a lower voice “What took you both so long?”

Doug and I cough, embarrassment choking us.

“Leon!” Vishnal murmurs to him, on a disapproving tone.

“Just asking.”

“Your personality is terrible.” Arthur laughs, as we sit back between them, giving Lest the flowers. He inspects them with a far-off look on his eyes and we all just watch him in silence for a moment, Leon fanning himself the only sound in the room.

“You know what?” He says, grabbing one yellow flower from the bag. “After thinking about what almost happened to you, weren’t you with one of these…”

He pauses, to look me in the eye.

“Don’t you think it would be better if every person in town had one?”

Doug and I share a surprised look, as Lest takes a flower for each one of us out of the bag. Thanks to Lest, there’s enough for everyone in town, even Arthur who still doesn’t seem to believe the myth.

“My prince is so generous…” Vishnal whispers devotedly to Leon, who just nods in amusement. Lest overhears them and tries to hide the blush on his face with one of the flowers—making Arthur giggle.

Are you sure Doug and I are the only gays around here?...

Lastly, Lest places one flower on Kiel’s pillow.

“Hey, won’t he squash it while sleeping?” Doug asks, playing with the petals of his own flower.

“I don’t think so, Kiel sleeps quietly like an angel.” Arthur says, truthfully.

“Unlike a certain dwarf I know.” I give Doug a side glance, to which he shoves me in response.

“Are you two sleeping together already?” Leon asks and—

“W-WHAT??” We ask in unison, once we process his implication. Everyone shushes us.

“Well, he said Doug doesn’t sleep quietly.”

“I think Dylas saw that in the previous sleepovers…” Arthur murmurs, “Isn’t that right?”

“Alright, that does it!” Lest says, a little too loud, making Kiel grunt. He lowers his tone a little. “Are we all going to keep playing dumb with these two?”

Wha?

Lest turns to face Doug and me and goes on. “The whole town knows you’re dating already. You don’t need to hide it anymore.”

“It’s probably Kiel’s fault,” Vishnal adds, looking apologetic. “He spread around that you two gave each other, huh, _hickeys_ …”

“Then again, this might as well be Leon’s fault for teaching Kiel that word in the first place.” Arthur sighs, staring at Leon in disapproval. He just hides his smirk behind his fan, guilty as hell.

“So,” Doug finally says, his voice a little strained. “You guys cool with us?”

They all tilt their heads. He goes on.

“I mean… You don’t mind having sleepovers with two, huh—

“We always had sleepovers with you two morons, nothing changed.” Leon says.

“We’re not morons!” Doug and I say, and they all laugh.

Ugh… Well. At least they accepted us. I feel almost silly for being so afraid of telling them before.

“Sooo,” Lest goes on, “Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?”

We stare at him in puzzlement. What else does he want to know?

…

“Oh, come on. Everyone can see these rings you’re wearing. Matching, gold rings."

Oh. I forgot about these.

“When is the wedding?” Vishnal asks cheerful, and Doug and I stare at each other.

I shrug.

“We’re… not sure yet?” Doug answer plainly. Despite everyone’s incredulous look, it’s true.

“I just proposed him yesterday, I… We…” I swallow, “Didn’t give it much thought.”

“But you do want to get married, right?” Lest asks, and of course we do!

“Duh.” Doug says, and I nod. “We just don’t have a date yet!”

“Is that so?” Lest says. “Hm…”

He has his chin in his hand now and huh—

How odd.

The look on his face looks almost scheming, for some reason…

They keep in silence for a minute and then Vishnal yawns. It’s contagious: before we know, everyone in the room is yawning as well…

“I think we should join Kiel, what about you?” Leon says, slanted eyes half-closed. We all agree, and with a goodnight, we turn off the lights.

Now about Lest’s suspiciously scheming face… Nah. I guess I was imagining things, right?

No need to worry about it.

No need, at all…

…


	39. Cheering

It’s an unusually sunny autumn day today. Not a single cloud in the sky, birds chirping, not too warm nor too cold… A perfect day for fishing.

I mean, for a wedding.

One thing didn’t change from my days: whenever someone would get married, the whole town needed to wait for them to pass by each of them, to give the couple wishes of good luck and happiness.

It was completely anal.

It always took forever and I never knew what to say. But I guess it should feel a little different when you’re friends with both the bride and the groom… So in respect for Lest and Meg, I’m here, waiting for them in the path close to the airship, trying my best to stay in a good mood.

I gotta say though, this outfit Porcoline made me wear is not helping. At all.

Why did he force me to use this ridiculous suit?? Urk, I know, I know. “Groom’s order!” Damn Lest, why does it have to be me? Nobody else is dressed up this formally, heck, Leon didn’t even bother to wear a shirt at all! (But then again, he never does.)

If only it was black, then _maybe_ I could feel like I’m in my usual clothes, but white? Luckily it’s not too frilly, otherwise they’d be mistaking me for the groom…

The worst part is this bowtie… This white, tortuously tight bow-fucking-tie. Maybe if I adjust it…

“Careful there,” A smooth voice says by my side, while I struggle with the tie. “You don’t want to ruin your fancy look now, do you?” Leon says, in his perpetual mocking tone.

I glare at him, grumpily letting go of the torture-instrument of a cloth. At least I’ve loosen it up a little…

“Remind me again why I’m waiting through this with you?” I ask, impatience starting to grow on me. He grins at me and then face forward, casually fanning himself.

“You looked bored here all alone.” He says, the same answer he always give me when I ask why he’s fishing by my side. He keeps quiet for a moment before grinning in amusement.

“Margaret’s family sure is entertaining, right?”

Leon points his fan towards the group in front of the restaurant. The loud, colorful group. Meg wasn’t lying when she said she come from a family of artists: Porco is happily dancing with a couple who knows their dance steps, to the tune of a song sang by a more elderly elf. I’m assuming them to be Meg’s parents and grandmother, respectively. Arthur is laughing while he claps in rhythm and, in the background, a meg-looking elf vigorously portraits the scene, spreading paint on a canvas she somehow set up… “RAINBOW!!” She shouts every now and then.

Sheesh. Even from a safe distance, they’re still so noisy… I guess that’s why I wanted to be left alone. Good thing they’re enjoying themselves though.

“Porco looks happy.” I comment, trying to pocket my hands in my jacket only to realize those are fake pockets. Urk!!

“Partially yes, he sure is happy.” Leon answers, with arms crossed and an unusual contemplative look on his face. “But the other part of him must be a little sad.”

Huh? Where did come from?

“Why do you think this?” I ask, staring at Leon in puzzlement. He then goes back to his sly persona, grinning at me like I’m an idiot.

“Dylas, Dylas… Two of Porcoline’s precious kids are getting married today. In Porcoline’s place, wouldn’t you feel a little abandoned?”

Hm… I guess if he puts it that way…

But wait. Two kids? Porco sure considers Meg his daughter, but Lest, Lest is more of a, a… Well. Porcoline’s relationship with Lest it’s complicated, I sure don’t understand it.

“What do you mean by two kid—

“Oh, look who’s finally over there.” Leon says before I can ask him any further. Meg’s family shriek and shout in joy at Meg’s figure, who walks in their direction with an arm laced around Lest’s. Both of them are very pretty and fancy, all dressed up in white, with frilly roses, cravats and stuff. But the most important part: they look so happy together.

A mushy part inside me kinda wishes Doug was here with me right now, but I shut it quiet.

And so we wait for Meg’s family to finish congratulating the bride. They cry, and laugh and sing and talk... They talk some more... Meg’s sister (I’m assuming it’s her sister) attempts to hug Meg but Arthur stops her, because she’s all smeared in paint.

I think I dozed off at some point, because I suddenly wake up with Leon’s feathery fan tickling my nose and when I realize, Meg and Lest are marching toward us. I push Leon’s fan out of my face and glare at him for a second before the grooms stop in front of us.

“Congratulations.” Says Leon, with a charming smile/grin—I can’t tell the difference. They thank him and then turn to face me with expectant eyes.

“So…” I start, not sure of what to say to them. The silence that falls between us gives me an idea though.

“I guess the restaurant will be quiet from here on out.”

“What are you talking about?” Meg says, with a smile. “Married people still have to eat, you know!”

I can’t help but laugh a little at the obvious statement.

“That so? Well, I guess it’ll be noisy as ever after all, then, huh?”

“Too bad for you!” She laughs at me back, and yeah. This sure feels different from all the weddings I attended in the past.

It feels warmer.

I share a look with Lest, who’s smiling endearingly at us.

“Well, congratulations. May the two of you have a happy life together.” I finish, meaning every word. They thank me and follow their way to greet the rest of the town.

The tradition that follows once you talk to the grooms is to wait for them where the ceremony will take place. In this case, at the town square—since it’s impossible to fit everyone in Venti’s palace (specially with her inside). So Leon and I get moving, Leon surprisingly quiet and wistful today.

Half of the town is here at the plaza already. Good thing my height is useful in times like these, where amidst the crowd I can get on my tiptoes and easily look down on most of them. I’m glad Doug’s so easily recognizable—not many redheads in Selphia. Well, there’s also that long-haired traveling merchant, but I heard she’s from Sharance anyway.

Leon excuse himself and we part ways, as I walk in direction of Doug. When I finally reach him, I tap his shoulder and he turns around almost smushed against me but wait—

Hold on. I need to take a step back here. Doug’s looking SO

“Wow, you look GOOD!!” He steals the words from my mouth, and for a moment I forgot how overdressed I am myself.

“Forget about me,” I start, feeling the heat creeping up my face, “What, y-you…”

I can’t even form a sentence. Doug’s looking sharp in a nice black waistcoat, a white shirt and matching white _pants_ —I never saw Doug in pants before, does his legs look longer? Wow.

“Oh, this?” Doug gestures to his outfit, with pink cheeks. “Don’t ask me, they just made me wear it. It looks totally lame on me, right?”

“What? Not the slightest.” I answer almost immediately, to his surprise. He then punches me—ow, this means he’s embarrassed… But wait.

Upon further inspection, I notice he’s holding on his hands a white jacket and. Huh… Is that a untied bowtie on his neck? A white one?

“You know what?” Doug starts, staring at my suit more carefully while putting on his jacket again. “Our outfits look almost identical. What a coincidence!”

Yeah… They ARE identical. This is kinda of… Fishy.

“Doug,” I start, the cogs turning in my head... “Who made you wear this again?”

“Granny!” He points towards the palace and there she was, sitting with a napping Clorica on a bench close to the door. “Poor granny, she said her legs hurt today so they put up a bench just for her.”

Oh I see.

So Blossom? Hm, there goes my suspicion. For a moment I thought that maybe Les—

“She also said Lest was so nice gifting me this, it would be rude not to wear it.”

LEST?

“H-he made me wear this too. But… why?”

“Maybe he wants us to serve food? Could this be a waiter outfit?”

With _these_ fancy shoes? I don’t think so… Not from _my_ experience as a waiter. I just shake my head, furrowing my brow here with Doug, completely forgetting about the crowd around us…

“Do you remember if he named us his best men or something?” Seems unlikely, but who knows.

“Nope, those would be Vishnal and Kiel. What a traitor huh?” Doug says with a grimace—but he’s laughing now.

Then why.

Why on Earth, Lest?

“MAKE WAAAY FOR THE GROOMS!!” Volkanon shouts from the top of his lungs, startling everyone. People quickly step back as he charges through the crowd, opening a way through the town square.

“Finally” I hear somebody say between the cheering, and yeah. Rude stranger gets me… This wedding is feeling endless. Lest and Meg suddenly appear and everyone starts cheering as they walk to the palace. Doug’s angry because he can’t see anything with all those people in front of him, so I decide to do what is right: to tease him about his height with an original nickname.

“Angry matchstick? WHAT??” He yells. What, he didn’t get it?

“It’s because you’re both red hot headed and are very, very short.” I explain, and we need to shout a little because people are still clapping and cheering for the entering grooms.

“OH, very mature dickhead!!” He punches my arm, and I know what I did was bad but if he could look how red his face is right now… He IS a walking matchstick.

“Stop. Laughing!!” He commands, shoving me—and I almost bump into the person behind me. This makes me stop.

“What the hell Doug, we’re at a wedding!” I crouch down to hiss at his ear, and then I grab his wrists when I notice he’s about to shove me again. I stare into his eyes, holding him and he looks so pissed. Fuck.

I did it again.

I hang my head down in a sigh, and damn, I’m such an idiot.

“I’m sorry Doug. Again.” I murmur on his ear, and on second thought the ‘again’ wasn’t a nice touch because it probably reminds him of the other times I was a jerk to him. He tries to escape my grip so I hold him tighter, whispering a promise into his ears.

“I’m sorry. I mean it… I’ll make up for this later, okay?”

The fight seems to leave him as he stops struggling and… Wow. This probably sounded more suggestive than I intended, with all the whispering and stuff.

Before I can say anything else, I notice we PROBABLY missed something important from the wedding. Because everyone went silent, and Lest and Meg are already in front of the palace’s door, smiling like there’s no tomorrow and, and—

Is everybody looking at us??

“What’s happening Doug?” I murmur to him, frozen in place shocked by all those gazes.

“I have no idea, I just noticed it too.” He answers, panicking, and then I realize I’m still grasping his wrists. We straighten up in a blink, confusion and embarrassment clear on our flaming faces.

“Well?” Lest shouts, gesturing to us. “What you’re waiting for? Come here you two!”

Doug and I exchange a perplexed look for a minute before shyly walking towards the unknown. Did we screw up the wedding with our fight? Are they going to punish us? But then why they look so happy??

All I can tell as we stop in front of the grooms is that I’m a nervous wreck and so is Doug—his hand is all clammy against mine and wait, when did we start holding hands??

“Doug and Dylas…” Lest starts, staring contemplatively smiling at us. “Ask anyone in town, they’ll each have their favorite Doug and Dylas moment.”

What?

“Like the infamous five hours arm wrestling?” A girl’s voice comes from the crowd—Forte’s voice.

“No!” Pico suddenly floats above the crowd. “More like the gifts they secretly leave each other, yes?” How does she knows about those??

“Pico got the right idea!” Lest says. “Anyone else?”

What’s going on? Public humiliation? Apparently, everyone in town has an embarrassing moment about us to share!

“Dylas looked so worried when Doug got hurt.” Nancy says. “All the four times!”

T-that’s true but private!!

“Doug crafted a fishing pole for Dylas in my forge once.” Bado’s deep voice comes from the back of the town square. “It sucked, but still.”

“Hey!” Doug shouts, clenching my hands. It did suck, but still…

“Dylas always put the covers back on Doug during the sleepovers!” Amber says, and wait, she’s not there to see this happening, h-how—

“Those two take hot baths together every Sunday night, yes?” Oh, very professional, Xiao Pai!!

“Doug and Dylas just can’t get enough of each other!” Arthur laughs, and Leon gives the final blow:

“They should get married already.”

Doug and I glare at him, but Lest’s following words leave us at a loss.

“That’s why we’re here today! SURPRISE!!”

!!

…

??

WHAAAAAT??

“That’s true!” Meg giggles, and I feel a little pale.

“Sorry guys, it had to be done. So Meggie and I decided to share our ceremony with the most obvious couple in town, Doug and Dylas!” Lest says, hugging Meg lovingly. Is it me, or the cheering returned?

Doug and I look back at the crowd and everyone we know is clapping in happiness for us, it’s unbelievable. Both Porco and Blossom have tears in their eyes but they’re smiling like never before. Kiel is whistling, Arthur’s clapping, Vishnal’s trying to awake Clorica—she’s half cheering half sleeping. That’s when I notice at the distance Leon shit-eating grin from ear to ear.

Wait a second…

 

_“Two of Porco’s kid getting married today.”_

 

HE KNEW IT.

“UHUUL!!” A loud high voice suddenly comes from inside the palace, followed by a roar. Oh, Venti was probably hearing all along.

“Well, Venti,” Lest says, turning towards her. “Will you do the honors?”

“Sure, come on in!” She answers, excitement clear in her voice. “All of you!”

My hands are shaking nonstop against Doug’s palm and they are drenched in sweat but I’m not one to talk my legs are noodles when I try to walk my heart is pounding on my throat and BREATHE.

The next minutes of the ceremony pass by in a blur, and I’m glad that Lest and Meg didn’t make any vows because I wouldn’t be able to come up with something out of the blue. They kiss now, happy and shy, officially man and wife.

Then, they step aside and Venti turns to Doug and me. Alright. We can do this.

I take both of Doug hands and try my best not to let my nerves show through my eyes when I meet his. He might have had the same idea, because the only trace left of his previous anxiety are his trembling fingers and red face.

“Dylas.” She starts, the same way she did with Lest and Meg. “Do you love Doug, and pledge your companionship and devotion from this day forward?”

 

_Companionship and devotion…_

 

I gaze at his bright, silver eyes, and say a clear “I do.”

She now turns to Doug, who’s looks touched and excited at the same time.

“Doug. Do you love Dylas, and pledge your companionship and devotion from this day forward?”

“Hell yes!” He answers, stupid and lovable as always. We hear a little laughing around the palace. I can’t help but laugh too at his huge smile…

 

“Very well. May the Native Dragons bless this newlywed couple!”

And with this, the cheering returns but all I can feel right now is Doug’s sweet smile pressed against mine, as he tugs me down pulling me from that stupid and tight bowtie…

 

 

 

 

“GET A ROOM!”

“S-SHUT UP, LEON!!” Doug and I shout in unison.


	40. Ride

Porcoline sure can throw a wedding reception: good food, good drink and good music. I insisted in helping, but they wouldn’t let me. Regardless, things went smoothly in the restaurant thanks to Clorica, Vishnal and specially Volkanon: I have yet to see someone serving so many dishes before Porco could eat them himself. Doug and I agree it was scary.

By the end of the party though, people were either passing out from so much eating or either happily dancing drunk. In our table, there’s only Doug and me left, and we’re downing the last glass of this awesome champagne I’ve never saw in Porco’s cellar before—oh. The label has some elvish words, maybe this was from Meg’s family?

“Aaahhhh!…” Doug hisses, putting down the fine glass on the table with a thump. Thankfully, it didn’t shatter.

“I thought you didn’t drink.” I mumble, my eyes squinting as I try with no success to read the alcohol percentage on this thing… It sure did my vision no favors…

“I don’t.” He answers, sounding queasy, his face all red from the alcohol. “I was just trying to get some extra courage.”

“Why?” I ask, putting aside the bottle, blinking at the two Dougs in front of me. “We’re finally married. Everyone in town accepted us… The scary part is literally over.”

Doug’s face gets even redder for some reason and he’s biting his lip, avoiding eye contact all of a sudden.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” He finally says, dragging his chair closer to mine, a small hand falling gently on my thighs.

It takes me a second or ten to process the information.

...

“OH.” It finally clicks in my head. “D-do you mean…”

He nods, gaze fixed on mine. Heat hits up my neck when I realize Doug’s getting a little… handsy.

“Wanna get out of here?”

—

 

“We’re going to your place?” I ask, holding a laugh when Doug almost trips at the street stairs. Unfortunately, I do the same.

“No, idiot!” He laughs, pulling me by the hand every time. “Did you forget? Granny gave us a freaking house!”

As we keep walking he produces a brass key out of his pocket and, wait, was he carrying it all this time?

“Granny gave me the key again this morning, said I might need it. I don’t know how I didn’t catch the hint.”

“It’s cause you’re a moron.” I tease him.

“Look who’s talking! You thought we were dressed up because we would be _waiters_ at Lest’s wedding!”

Wait a second.

“That was you!” I say, pushing him lightly.

“Oh, right.” He snorts. “Aaand we’re here!”

We stop in front of the house. _Our house_. My stomach is turning—I hope it’s not the alcohol…

He lets go of my hand and unlocks the door, opening it up. But instead of stepping in, he’s, he’s…

“What the fuck you’re doing, dwarf?” I ask, as he tries to grab me by the legs, one arm around my back.

“I’m… NNNG!! Going to…” He stops to breathe. “Carry you in, bridal style!”

????

“No way!!” I refute, blushing more than I’d like to. “Let go of me!!”

“Too. Late!” Doug says, somehow managing to lift me from the ground?? Fearing the imminent fall, I roll my arms around his neck for balance, as he struggles to walk inside.

“T-this is not going to work dwarf!” I warn him as I watch his face grow red from the effort, his arms trembling under my weight. “I’m too big for you!!”

He barely takes a step inside when his legs suddenly give in and we both fall to the floor. The cold, hard floor… For a good moment, all we can do is moan and groan in pain, the world spinning around while we lie here.

“Told you so…” I say, groggily sitting up and staring at the plopped dwarf, face down on the floor. He starts muttering, and I need to crouch down next to him to hear it.

“…shouldn’t have drank…” He mumbles, half-dead on the floor.

“Tsk, you couldn’t pull this off even if you were sober…” I say, my ass still hurting from the fall. “But why did you drink anyway?”

Doug needing courage? This doesn’t sound like him…

He sighs and after a moment, lies on his side lifelessly, facing me.

“On our second date you had wine, remember? Y’said it made you unashamed...”

“So? Why would you need that?” From the little experience we had, Doug’s last name might as well be ‘shameless’. Wait a sec, what’s his last name again??

“I needed for tonight! Our honeymoon!”

“We ‘rehearsed’ it Doug… three times these past four days.” I murmur the last part, blushing at the memories. “Why are you still nervous about this?”

Just because he comes before me every damn time?

“Cause… C-cause…”

At this, I sigh, because even though he’s drunk he still holds his tongue when insecure (maybe two glasses weren’t enough for this?) Besides…

“No hurry Doug. It’s not like we’re lying on the cold floor.” I tease him, to which he snorts and pushes me. He then sighs and lies facing down again, his voice a little muffled.

“Sorry about this. I just wanted a romantic entrance, y’know? The whole couple carrying thing…”

And something about his tone catches me off guard. I _know_ he deserves being on the floor for being a stubborn dumbass, but part of me… Ugh, part of me feel bad for him. It almost makes me want to…

…

Fuck, I have gone 100% soft for this idiot, haven’t I?

With a frown in my face, I get up firstly to close and lock the door. Then, I crouch next to Doug and turn him on his back, his little drunken disoriented face staring at me in confusion. Carefully, I shift my arms under his back and legs to, with one fell swoop, lift him from the floor. In the embarrassing bridal style, like he wanted.

Doug’s blinking at me half-dazed, the pink on his face probably not as big as mine. Definitely not. I’m suddenly not sure what to do or say right now, but he’s starting to smile so this is good, I guess??

He gingerly wraps his arms around my neck, his warmth making me happy inside. Then he brings his smile closer to my lips, and my heart skips a beat when he takes me on a kiss. I can still taste the alcohol on his mouth—this feels so odd coming from Doug…

Next thing we know, I’m searching for the bedroom. Just because his kisses are making me so hot—not because Doug is starting to grow heavy as fuck on my sore arms… I drop him a little too careless on the bed for I couldn’t take his weight anymore, but I guess it came out as desperate want to Doug, who’s kissing me harder and wetter than ever.

He’s slipping a hand under this stupid white jacket while I unbutton his fancy waistcoat… My fingers are trembling and I’m getting dizzy. Wow, that was a killer champagne…

Before I know, I’m lying on the bed fully naked while I watch Doug stripping off his underwear, his erection springing out. I feel my own cock throbbing at the sight, so I grab myself, slowly pumping it in need…

“Doug…” I moan as he climbs over me, kissing my neck, teasing my ears… “Hm… S-stop teasing…”

“Dylas, I-I…” He whispers in my ears, shyly. Why’s he so hesitant today? I grab his face a little groggily and stare at him, waiting for him to finish. He must want something really depraved for him to be this shy toda—

 _“I wanna ride you!”_ He says in one breath, his face and ears burning bright red.

…

 

W-wha

“WHAT??” I ask, not sure what else to think or say or do. Is this another horse joke or…

W-wait. Is _this_ why he needed courage today?

“If you don’t want it, that’s fine, w-we can do the other—

“N-no! I want this.” I reassure him, maybe a little too desperate. “ _I want you_.”

And that’s all it takes apparently. Doug’s biting his lip now, staring at me full of lust, and he’s… He’s… Rubbing his ass on my cock?

“F-fuck Doug…” I hiss, clenching the sheets. I feel it growing harder as the slick tip rubs against Doug’s skin and wow, it’s not even inside yet but, but… Wait. I should probably prepare him. Grabbing Doug in my lap, I turn our positions around towering over his little frame on the bed and

_Oh fuck…_

“We don’t have lube here Doug.” I say, disappointment hitting me like a brick. We remember what happened when we tried without it. Not… good.

“I have some in the pockets of my pants!” Doug says to my relief, getting up to get them. But wait—

“Why the hell were you carrying lube to Lest’s wedding??”

“After what happened last Thursday, I’m always prepared.” He laughs, throwing me the bottle. Yeah… that’s pretty smart of him, to be honest.

I start spreading the lube on my fingers, holding my breath as Doug watches me, nervous, biting his lip. I place a kiss on his thighs before propping them up, sitting between them, a shaky hand moving to touch Doug’s entrance.

My heart is thundering in my chest and I keep an eye on Doug’s expression as I rub small circles on him. He closes his eyes and starts breathing through his mouth, little whimpers escaping his lips the harder I press.

With my free hand, I caress his lean thighs, my face heating up when my finger slips inside Doug. Its just the tip, but enough to make him groan. My cock starts to throb at this…

“Let me know if it hurts, okay?” I murmur him, my whole body hot as I deepen the touch. He just nods, shutting his eyes tighter.

His breath grows ragged the deeper I finger him, the more fingers I add, the faster I move my hands… And before I know, I’m desperately fucking him to the knuckles, ramming three fingers hard in his ass—his moans are making my cock ache in need…

“D-dylas!!” He cries, his body curved, hand on his hard cock, “Just…

“Just fuck me already!”

Hell yes.

I take my fingers out of him, to which he hisses, then proceeds to take some lube and spread all over my cock.

“T-that’s a lot of lube…” Doug comments, short of breath, sort of referring to my big size. He’s sitting up, staring at my erection in what looks like a mix of want and fear.

“You scared?” I ask, pumping my lubed dick and grinning at him. He swallows and glows redder, nodding in agreement, to my surprise. Oh…

So this is why he wanted courage.

“Don’t be afraid… I-I

“I’ll be gentle.” I whisper in his ears, feeling my throat hot. He swallows loud enough for me to hear and then climbs over my lap, straddling me and locking our lips in a kiss. I moan in his mouth when he shifts himself over my cock, clumsily adjusting his angle until

“Fuck Doug!...” I cry in his mouth, a shiver running through my spine when the head pops inside his tight, hot ass. His breath is shaky but he keeps kissing me, I’m out of breath by the time he starts moving, my slick cock embedding deeper inside him.

I gasp for air and throw my head back, grasping the sheets, panting while he takes my whole dick inside him. Fuck, it feels SO g-good.

“A-aahhh!...” Doug hiss, gasping for air before starting to ride me, tortuously slow. I hug him and kiss his neck, completely overwhelmed by this, by him…

“Y-you’re so thick, Dylas…” Doug moans on my ears, before nibbling them with trembling lips. Thick?

“I’m sorry…” I cry, holding him closer, to which he laughs, sitting down on me deeper. Aaah…

“Don’t be sorry, I…” He stops and stare at me, grabbing me by the hair, “I like it.”

And I swear this made me harder.

Holding his firm ass in place, I start thrusting myself inside him hard. The moan that escapes him makes me guess I hit the right spot. Doug digs his nails on the skin of my back, his hard cock rubbing between our stomachs.

“T-that’s not gentle!” He pants, eyes shut tight, but before I slow down the rhythm he implores “D-don’t stop! Don’t you dare to stop!!”

Oh fuck, Doug.

I’m actually groaning while I bury my cock _deep_ inside him, sweat dripping from my chin, my hands desperately clenched on his ass. Doug starts crying my name nonstop—the more he cries the faster I fuck him, until his whole body is shaking and he’s jerking himself off, desperate noises shamelessly leaving his wet mouth.

He comes with a sharp breath, shuddering all over me, his asshole tightening around my swollen cock and nnng, FUCK—

With one last thrust, I come inside his tight ass, pleasure shooting through my whole body.

Damn…

“F-fuck Dylas…”

…

“Dylas…” Doug says, between pants, our chests sticking together.

“What?” I somehow manage to grow, my vision blurrier than ever.

“Love you.” He kisses my sweaty forehead, smiling on my neck next. I feel the warmth of his words hit me, so I embrace him closer, despite how gross we are right now…

“I…” I start, embarrassment striking drunk me. “I-I think the weather is great today.”

Doug unburies his head from my neck and stares at me like the idiot I am, then bursts out laughing and I can’t help but laugh too because _what was that_?…

Let me try again.

“Love you back.” I murmur in his ears, hating the sappy feeling these words give me. He stops laughing but keeps on smiling, kissing me sweetly with soft lips.

And that’s when it hits me: this stupid dork is my _husband_. We just had a great fuck and we fucking love each other…

I never thought I could ever feel this happy.

…

And drunk. Gosh, that was good champagne.


	41. Epilogue

Life is weird as fuck, and it definitely doesn’t go the way or pace you expect to. One day you’re arm wrestling the most annoying dwarf in town, then the next day, you’re fiercely making out with him on his bedroom floor.

One night, you’re banging your head on the bed, trying to stop thinking about his stupid face. Next night, same stupid face is snoring/drooling inches from you while you try to sleep.

One afternoon you’re secretly preparing him a treat, and the other you’re having lunch together, like a happy couple or something...

I guess what I’m trying to say is that things between me and Doug went from dumb denial to full blown love in the blink of an eye. From our first kiss to the day we got married, there was literally a sixteen day timespan. We really rushed into this, it’s kinda scary to think about it.

Getting married to Doug changed my life in a lot of ways, but not at all at the same time. We still work with Porcoline and Blossom during the day, and I still get to fish in some lazy afternoons like I used to. The difference being, when I get home, Doug’s there to greet me with a hug and a kiss. Every day, fish stinking and everything. It’s almost embarrassing how much happy this makes me.

We still bicker here and then, mostly because of horse or height jokes—we just can’t grow out of the habit yet. But it never ends on a sour note. Especially when we take it to the bedroom, things always get, huh, interesting in there…

 

I don’t know what the future holds for us, or what we might need to face together…

But,

One thing I know for sure. Sappy as it might sound,

I love that damn dwarf more than anything in the world.

 


End file.
